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The 

Lake History Stones 



The 

Lake History Stories 



THE HARDING BOOKS 

Greek Gods, Heroes, and Men $0-50 

BY PROFESSOR SAMUEL B. HARDING AND CAROLINE H. 
HARDING 

202 pages, 12 full page illustrations. 

The City of the Seven Hills . .50 

BY PROFESSOR SAMUEL B. HARDING 

274 pages, 38 illustrations and maps. 

The Story of the Middle Ages . .50 

BY PROFESSOR SAMUEL B. HARDING 

224 pages, 55 illustrations. 

The Story of England 60 

BY PROFESSOR SAMUEL B. HARDING AND 
WILLIAM FLETCHER HARDING 

384 pages, 7 maps, and 138 illustrations. 



The Expansion of the American 

People 60 

EDWIN E. SPARKS, M.A., PH.D., STATE COLLEGE, 
PENNSYLVANIA 

472 pages, 184 illustrations and maps. 



SCOTT, FORESMAN AND COMPANY 

Publishers 378-388 Wabash Ave., Chicago 




-1 .2 



THE STORY OF 

ENGLAND 



AN ELEMENTARY HISTORY FOR 
SIXTH AND SEVENTH GRADES 



BY 



SAMUEL BANNISTER HARDING, Ph.D. 

Professor of European History in 
Indiana University 



WILLIAM FLETCHER HARDING, M.S. 



CHICAGO 
SCOTT, FORESMAN AND COMPANY 






COPYRIGHT, 1909 
BY SCOTT, FORESMAN AND COMPANY 



248568 



CONTENTS 

Tage 

I. Introduction 1 

II. Britain and the Britons 3 

III. The Romans in Britain 11 

IV. The Coming of the English 20 

V. The English Accept Christianity 29 

VI. King Alfred and the Danes 39 

VII. The Normans Conquer England 50 

VIII. The Rule of the Normans 59 

IX. Henry II., the First Plantagenet King 70 

X. Richard the Lion-Hearted and the Crusades 80 

XI. King John and the Great Charter 91 

XII. The Barons' Wars against Henry III 100 

XIII. The First Two Edwards 106 

XIV. The Rise of Parliament 115 

XV. Edward III. and the Hundred Years* War 120 

XVI. Richard II., the Last Plantagenet King 130 

XVII. The Lancastrian Kings, and the Close of the Hun- 
dred Years' War 142 

The Wars of the Roses (1455-1485) 154 

Henry VII. and the Beginning of Modern Times. . . 165 

Henry VIII. and the Separation from Rome 172 

The Reformation Established (1547-1559) 182 

England under Elizareth 192 

James I., the First Stuart King 204 

Charles I. and Parliament 210 

The Civil War between King and Parliament 219 

Commonwealth and Protectorate (1649-1660) 227 

Charles II. and the Stuart Restoration (1660-1685). 234 
vii 



riii CONTENTS 

Page 

XXVIII. James II. and the "Glorious Revolution" 244 

\ \ I X. The Reign of William and Mary 252 

XXX. ( x )i lis Anne, the Last or the Stuarts 260 

XXXI. The First Hanovebian Kings 268 

XXXII. Winning the British Empire 274 

XXXIII. George III. and the Ajierican Revolution 284 

\ X X I V. Industrial and Social Changes 296 

XXXV. England and the French Revolution 309 

XXXVI. A Period of Reform (1815-1837) 325 

XXXVII. The Early Reign of Queen Victoria 337 

X X XVIII. Gladstone and Disraeli 348 

XXXIX. England and Ireland 357 

XL. The British Empire under Edward VII 366 

Index 377 



LIST OF MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS 



MAPS 



Roman Britain 12 

Saxon Kingdoms 28 

Possessions of Henry II 69 

England U55-1660 155 



Page 

. . 275 



New England and New France 
India (illustrating growth of Brit- 
ish Territory) 282 

British Empire 370 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



The New Houses of 



Parliament 
. . Frontispiece 



Mount Snowdon in Wales 

Stone Implements Found in Br i ta i n 

Pottery Found in Britain 

Bronze Swords from Britain 

Stonehenge 

Caesar Landing in Britain 

Part of the Roman Wall 

Remains of a Roman Villa 17 

Old English Ships 21 

Old English Warriors 22 

Old English Farming Scenes 25 

An Early English Church 30 

A Celtic Cross 31 

Head of a Bishop's Staff 32 

Ruined Cathedral, Island of Iona . 33 

Canterbury Cathedral 35 

An English King (10th Century). . . 40 

Woman's Costume (10th Century) 40 

A Viking Ship 41 

Remains of a Viking Ship Found 

in Sweden 42 

Gold Jewel of Alfred 46 

Old English Horn Lantern 47 

House of an English Thegn 48 

King Canute 51 

Canute's English Queen Emma .... 52 

Seal of Edward the Confessor 53 

A Norman Ship 54 

Death of Harold 56 

William the Conqueror 60 

Hunting the Stag 63 

A Portion of Domesday Book 64 

The Norman Castle of Rochester. . 66 

"Planta Genesta" 70 

Seal of Henry II 71 

Trial by Battle 74 



Becket as Archbishop of Canter- 
bury 76 

Richard the Lion- Hearted 81 

Shield of Richard 1 84 

Armor of the time of Richard I. . . . 86 

Richard I.'s "Saucy Castle" 88 

Money of King John's Reign 93 

John Granting the Charter 96 

Portion of the Great Charter 97 

King and Soldiers Met by a Mes- 
senger 101 

Banner of Simon de Montfort 102 

Fight between Knights, time of 

Henry III 103 

Seal of Edward II 107 

Cross Erected by Edward 1 109 

Battle of Crecy 123 

Battle of Poitiers 125 

The Black Prince 127 

John Wyclif 131 

Peasants Plowing 132 

Peasants Breaking Clods 132 

Harrowing 133 

Men and Women Reaping 133 

John Ball at the Head of Rebels. . . 135 

London Bridge 137 

Battle of Shrewsbury 144 

City of Rouen 147 

A ttack on a Castle 148 

Marriage of Henry V. and Kather- 

ine 150 

Joan of Arc 151 

Henry VI 156 

Tower of London 157 

Edward IV 159 

Plate Armor of the 15th Century. . 160 

Warwick Castle 161 

Richard III 163 



LIST OF MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS 



["he Tudor Rose 1(ifi 

Barlj Printing Office 167 

Henry VII 169 

Elisabeth of York 1™ 

Henry VIII W8 

Wolsej 174 

w.u of Henry VIII. against France 176 

Edward VI 184 

Lads Jane Grey i* 6 

Queen Mary > 8 « 

Queen Elizabeth 193 

Gold Coin <>f Elizabeth 195 

Drake's Ship, the Golden Hind ... 198 
State Carriages of Elizabeth's Time 201 

James l 205 

Guy Pawkes's Cellar 207 

Charles I 211 

Parliament House, and Westmin- 
ster Abbey 213 

Trial of Strafford 216 

Oliver Cromwell 220 

Pari of Cromwell's Letter after 

Naseby 222 

Boscobel House 230 

Cromwell Dissolving Parliament. . 231 
Ladies of the Court of Charles II.. 235 

Maypole Dance 236 

Gentlemen's Costumes 237 

New St. Paul's Cathedral 241 

James II 245 

Bishop of the time of James II 247 

William of Orange Setting out for 

England 249 

William III 253 

Queen Mary II 253 

Queen Anne 261 



Page 

Blenheim Medal 263 

View of Gibraltar 265 

The Union Jack 266 

Sir Robert Walpole 269 

A Street in London about 1740 270 

The Young Pretender 272 

William Pitt, Earl of Chatham .... 278 

General James Wolfe 279 

George III 285 

Hand Spinning Wheel 297 

Spinning Jenny 298 

Early Steam Engine 300 

Stage Coach 303 

Scene in a Farmhouse Kitchen 305 

Guillotine 310 

Napoleon Bonaparte 312 

British Soldier 315 

William Pitt, the Younger 317 

Duke of Wellington 320 

William IV 326 

A Spinning Factory 332 

Children Working in a Mine 334 

Windsor Castle 338 

Princess Victoria Notified that She 

Is Queen 339 

"Puffing Billy" 340 

Sir Robert Peel 343 

Sepoys 346 

Eton College 349 

William Ewart Gladstone 351 

View of the House of Commons. . . 354 

An Irish Cabin 358 

Charles Stewart Parnell 361 

A Street in Dublin 363 

Queen Victoria, in Old Age 367 

Edward VII 368 



INTRODUCTION 

The story of the English is the story of our forefathers. 
Most of us in America, if we try to learn something of 
our grandfathers, and of their grandfathers 0ur 
before them, find that the story takes us back JU^! 5 * 
to some town or county in England. We find En - hsh - 
ourselves descended from some smith, or weaver, or 
tailor, or some other honest man of that "tight little 
isle." And when, in addition, we ask where we got our 
government, our church organization, and our ways of 
living, we are again led back by many a path to the 
island of Great Britain. 

So, if we wish truly to know how we came to be what 
we are, we must first ask who the English are, — where 
they came from, what their country is like, n .. 

J ' J ' Outline 

and what their history has been. We must of their 

^ m m history. 

see how they began with a very simple life. 
How, little by little, through many long years, they 
changed from heathens to Christians, and built great 
and beautiful churches. How they have become indus- 
trious and energetic, building great ships and railways, 
warehouses and factories, helping to make the powers 
of nature bow to the will of man. And how, from living 
in wild and scattered tribes, they came to have one 
strong and free government; and how its area spread 
until now their power is felt in many lands, and millions 
of men are proud to say that they are of English or 
British race. 

The English began their story at a time when the 
story of the Romans was coming to a close. 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

The Romans were greal conquerors for some time 
before the birth of Christ, and they ruled the lands about 
the Mediterranean Sea, and beyond, for hundreds of 
years. Bui al last they were obliged to give up that 
task. Their empire was broken into many parts, which 
were taken l>\ barbarous but stronger peoples. That 
part of il which the Romans knew as the island of 
Britain was given up when Rome's troubles came thick 
upon her. The English then came over from the Conti- 
nent of Europe and took possession. And it is from 
them thai we now give the name "England" to the 
greater part of that island. 

We begin our story first with an account of the island 
itself, and then of the different peoples who lived there 
before the English came. Afterward we will trace the 
story of the English, as they grow from small beginnings 
to their present great strength. 



II 



BRITAIN AND THE BRITONS 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

The things which fitted the British Isles to be the home of civilized 

men. 
What kind of people the early inhabitants were; why they were 

overcome. 
Who the Britons were; whence they came; how they lived; their 

chief weakness in government. 

From the city of Calais, on the northern coast of 
France, one may look over the water on a clear day and 
see the white cliffs of Dover, in England. At „ _ . . . 

o The British 

this point the English Channel is onlv twenty- l ? les and 

in J the sea. 

one miles wide. But this narrow water has 
dangerous currents, and often fierce winds sweep over 
it, so that small ships find it hard to cross. This rough 
Channel has more than once spoiled the plans of Eng- 
land's enemies, and the English people have many times 
thanked God for their protecting seas. 

Indeed, the British Isles belong more to the sea than 
to the land. They once formed a peninsula, jutting out 
from Europe, far into the Atlantic Ocean; and thus they 
remained for countless ages. But a long struggle for 
mastery went on between sea and land. It ended at 
last, ages before our story begins, by the sinking of the 
land between England and France, and between Scot- 
land and Norway. The rolling, tireless sea poured over 
these low places, to form the North Sea and the English 
Channel. The Irish Sea and St. George's Channel were 
formed in the same manner. The result is that Ave now 
have the two islands of Great Britain and Ireland, with 



I THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

a Dumber of smaller ones belonging to the same group, 
instead of that long-ago peninsula of the Continent of 
Europe. 

The sea took the people of these islands for its own. 
It shut them off from their enemies in the early days of 
their weakness. It gave them plenty of warm rains, 
which make grass and grain grow green and tall. It gave 
them abundance of fish for food: and when they became 
stronger as a people, it furnished them broad highways 
by which they might trade with other nations. So the 
people of ( Treat Britain have put their trust in the sea, 
looking to it for their wealth and their strength. The 
' poet Shakespeare speaks of their land as — 

" This fortress built by Nature for herself, 
Against infection and the hand of war; 
This happy breed of men, this little world. 
This precious stone set in the silver sea, 
Which serves it in the office of a wall 
Or as a moat defensive to a house, 
Against the envy of less happy lands." 

But Great Britain has many advantages besides the 
sea, else it would be no better off than many other 
Islands. 

First, its climate is excellent, neither very cold in 

winter n<,r very warm in summer. The British Isles are 

other as far nortn as tlle bleak peninsula of Labra- 

Je'a'tu'res. dor m Xorth America, yet the summers in 

England are about as warm as in northern 

Minnesota, and their winters only as cold as in Virginia. 

The reason is that along the western coasts of Ireland 

and Scotland runs the warm Gulf Stream. 

There are many rivers, some of them broad and deep, 
up which ship, may go for a considerable distance into 
the land. The chief of these are the Thames, the 



BRITAIN AND THE BRITONS 5 

Severn, the Mersey, and the Clyde. Besides the river 
mouths, the country has an irregular coast on all sides, 
forming many sheltered harbors for ships. 

Again, there is a goodly amount of very fertile soil, 
capable of raising nearly every crop that can be grown 
in any part of the temperate zone. Then, too, there is 




MT. SXOWDON IN WALES 



great wealth of minerals in the depths of the earth — tin 
in the southwest of England, and coal and iron in the 
north and west. 

Where there are mines there are usually mountains. 
So it is in Great Britain. Along the western side of 
the island the country is mountainous, especially in the 
extreme west, which is called Wales. The loftiest moun- 
tain here is Mount Snowdon, which is about 3500 feet 



6 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



high. In the northern part is Scotland, where the 
mountains are quite rugged. Wales and northern 
Scotland are the wilder parts of the island, and were 
the parts which the English were longest in getting 
into their pos- 



session. 

Great Britain 

is aeroodly coun- 

try — good for 

man and beast. 

It was good for 

savage men ; it 

was good for £l% 

men who were 

beginning to 

advance beyond 

savages; and it 

is good now for 

a great and stone implements found in Britain 

powerful nation. 

The earliest people of Great Britain, like those of 

other parts of the world, were savages, who lived in 
caves or flimsy huts, and had only the rudest 
weapons. They are called "stone men," 
because they chipped stones into shape so as 

to make rough axes and knives. The later stone men 

made smooth and polished weapons, similar to the 

Indian knives and axes which you may see in museums. 

They had tamed the dog to serve them, and also had 

oxen, pigs, sheep, and goats. 

But, after all, we know very little of these stone men. 

They disappeared long before civilized men visited these 

islands, and their place was taken by a people who used 

• • I > ronze " weapons, made from a mixture of tin and copper. 




Earliest 
inhabi- 
tants. 



-*N 



BRITAIN AND THE BRITONS 7 

These men of the "bronze age" were the Britons, and 
from them the island is still called Britain. Like most 
Europeans, the Britons were men of "Aryan" 
speech. The European languages have so of the 

1 r & B "Britons." 

many likenesses to one another that scholars 
think they must all have come from some one original 
tongue. It is supposed that this language was spoken — 
long before men began to make records of their deeds — 
by some one original nation, living somewhere in 




POTTERY FOUND IN BRITAIN 



western Asia or eastern Europe; and from it the present 
European nations are all descended. This supposed 
original people is called Aryan, and those peoples who 
speak any language descended from theirs are said to 
be peoples of Aryan speech. The Celts — that is, the 
Irish, Welsh, Scots, and ancient Gauls — are one branch 
of the Aryan peoples. Other branches are: the ancient 
Greeks and Romans; the Teutons (including the Ger- 
mans and the Dutch) ; and the Slavs (Russians, Poles, 



s 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



step, the Celts 
some time before 



settled 
history 



and Servians). In Asia, the Persians and the ancient 
Hindus also spoke Aryan tongues 

Moving forward, step 1»\ 
in western Europe, at 
began. The Gauls re- 
mained in the country 
we call France. Others 
of the Celts, chief among 
whom were the Briton-;. 
moved across the Chan- 
nel and gave their name 
to the British Isles. 

The Britons were tall 

and slender, with light 

... , ._ complexions 

Life of the r 

ancient andblueeves. 

Britons. 

Many of them 
had red hair. When 
they went to war they 
stained their faces and 
bodies with a bluish dye 
taken from one of their 
native herbs. They 
fought mostly on foot, 
using swords and spears. 
They were fierce and 
bold and ready to resist 
any invader ; but they 
were not systematic in 
their fighting, and when 
steadily attacked would 
give way. Their bronze weapons and tools were harder 
and sharper than the stone implements of the earlier 
peoples. They made small round boats, of basket-work 




BRONZE SWORDS FROM BRITAIN 

The holes in the handles were for attaching 
wooden hilts 



BRITAIN AND THE BRITONS 9 

covered with skins. They plowed the land and raised 
wheat. They could spin and weave; they knew some- 
thing of mining and metal-working; they could quarry 
great stones from the hills; and they exchanged their 
tin for the goods of Gaul and other countries. 

Yet the Britons had no cities or towns, but lived in 
rude villages. Their huts were round, somewhat like 
Indian wigwams; they were built of sticks and reeds, 
though sometimes they had stone foundations. 



. -^"' 




la, \ \ 




STOXEHEXGE 

It is not certainly known by what people or for what purpose these great 

stones were erected 

The Britons believed in many gods. These included 
one who was supreme over all, besides a sun god, a god 
of thunder, and others. The worship of the Britons 
included bloody sacrifices of both animals and men. 
The human sacrifices were usually of criminals, or of 
captives taken in war; but sometimes innocent persons 
were sacrificed to their gods. The priests were called 
Druids, and they were the most learned men among the 
Britons. They were respected almost as much as the 
chiefs and kings, and were consulted on all questions of 
law and religion. 



10 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

At several places in England there are still standing 
some peculiar stone structures, erected in these early 
days. The most famous of these is Stonehenge, near 
Salisbury. It is a circle of huge stones set on end, with 
great stones laid crosswise upon them. Smaller circles 
and ovals are arranged within the great circle. One of 
the stones at Stonehenge weighs seventy tons. The 
whole circle stands in the midst of burial places, and it 
probably had something to do with the worship of these 
early peoples. 

No one knows how long the Britons were the ruling 
race in these islands. But whether it was many centuries, 
or only a few, they did not learn to unite under a single 
government. They had many chiefs, but none who was 
recognized throughout the country as supreme. 

So, when the Romans made an invasion into their 
land, no united resistance was possible. The stricter 
discipline and firmer organization of the Romans won 
the victory, and Britain was added to the great Empire 
of Rome. 



TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Describe the position of the British Isles on the map. 

2. Locate Calais, Dover, St. George's Channel; the rivers Thames, 

Seine, Mersey and Clyde; Wales, Scotland, Mt. Snowdon. 

3. What advantages result from the fact that Great Britain is an 

island? What disadvantages? 

4. What differences in race, customs, etc., were there between the 

"stone men" and the Britons? 

5. Which were further advanced in civilization, the early Britons 

or the North American Indians? Why? 



Ill 
THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

When and why Caesar first went to Britain. Kesults of his two 

expeditions. 
When the Roman Conquest was made. Boadicea; Agvicola; 

Hadrian. 
Improvements made by the Romans in Britain. The Roman wall. 
How the Christian religion was introduced into Britain; into 

Ireland. 
How long the Romans ruled in Britain; when and why they 

abandoned it. 

When Christ was born, about nineteen hundred years 
ago, the Roman Empire was the greatest government 
in the world. 

Through seven centuries of struggle the Romans had 
slowly increased their strength. In the early days, when 
Rome stood alone as a small city on the The 
seven hills by the river Tiber, it had more than {^"fiS. 
once been in danger of destruction, from civil 
war within or from enemies without. But gradually it 
extended its power, until all Italy was under Rome's 
rule. Then Sicily was gained; then Spain, Macedonia, 
Greece, and many other countries — until Roman governors 
and Roman armies were found in all the lands bordering 
on the Mediterranean Sea, and Rome was mistress of 
the civilized world. 

Wherever the Roman power went, peace and good 
order went also, and for many years the Roman Empire 
remained a blessing to the world. But Rome was not 
able to stop her conquests. The barbarians of the 



I J 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



ROMAN BRITAIN 

Roads shown thus 

Forests && Marshes -»■<•-- 




MAP OF ROMAN BRITAIN 



THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN 



13 



north — the Germans and the Gauls — threatened her 
borders, and she defended herself by sending armies 
into their countries also. 

The commander of one of these armies was Julius 
Caesar — the greatest of Roman generals and also a 
ere at statesman. He was in charge of the „ 

to , ° Caesar 

war against the Gauls. In three years he conquers 

to , -/ Gaul. 

conquered their whole country, from the 

Pyrenees Mountains to the English Channel. In the 

next seven years he succeeded in bringing Gaul so 




CAESAR LANDING IN BRITAIN 



thoroughly under Roman control, and making the Gallic 
people so well satisfied with their condition, that his 
province became in later days one of the most civilized 
and peaceful parts of the Empire. 

During his work in Gaul, Caesar twice led an army 
into Britain. His object was to show to the Britons 
the Roman power, and to warn them not to help their 
kinsmen across the Channel. 



14 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

Caesar's first visit was in the year 55 before 
Christ. On this occasion the Britons met the Romans 
at the shore, and tried to prevent their landing. He twice 
Here a Roman soldier showed the value of sntain 
the Roman training. While the Romans were (55 " 54 BG) * 
hesitating to leap into the sea, a standard bearer, who 
carried the brazen eagle, cried out: 

"Follow me, fellow soldiers, unless you will betray 
the Roman eagle into the hands of the enemy. For my 
part, I am resolved to do my duty to Caesar and to the 
commonwealth. " 

He then leaped from the ship, and the other soldiers 
followed. The Britons were driven back, after a fierce 
conflict. 

That year Caesar remained only a short time in 
Britain. Next summer he came again, remained a 
little longer, and made the Britons promise to pay tribute. 
He did not conquer any part of Britain, and the tribute 
was never paid. But he showed the Britons the power 
of Rome, and they did not afterward interfere with his 
work in Gaul. When Caesar wrote a history of his 
wars, a few years later, he gave the Romans their first 
real knowledge of Britain. From that time on, they 
looked upon it as a land worth having. 

About a hundred years afterward, the Romans 
Roman began their first conquest of the island. Large 
conquest of armies were sent over, and the conquest was 

Britain. 1 

made, little by little, from the south toward 
the north and west. In about forty years, all that we 
now know as England was conquered. 

At one time Boadicea, the queen of a tribe in eastern 
Britain, led the people in a great revolt against the 
unjust and cruel acts of a Roman governor. For a time 
the British swept victoriously over the country. They 



THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN 



captured and burned the Roman settlement where 
London now is and killed thousands of the Romans. 
But the Romans were better organized, and in the end 
thev defeated the queen's army. Boadieea then took 
poison, and the revolt was over. 

Some years later, the Roman governor Agricola 
came to Britain to finish the conquest. He was a man 
of energy and courage, and he extended the 
Roman power from the Humber river north- ^ OI ?J an 
ward to the river Clyde. He built a line of 
forts across the country, to hold back the wild tribes of 

Picts, in the north. 
He was a just gov- 
ernor, and his fair 
3 treatment caused 
many of the Britons 
to like the Roman 
rule. 

Later, the 
Emperor Hadrian 
came in person 
to Britain. While 
there, he ordered that a continuous earthen wall and 
ditch should be built about eighty miles south of 
Asrricola's forts. These defences extended right across 
the island, over hills and valleys, from the river Tyne 
on the east to the Solway Firth on the west. At the 
same time, or later, a stone wall was added, which 
was seventeen feet high, and from six to eight feet 
thick. A well-paved road ran along the south side, from 
sea to sea, a distance of seventy-three miles. Seventeen 
stone forts guarded the wall, with a watch tower every 
mile. Some parts of the wall and of these forts still 
remain. For many years, this wall was the northern 




PART OF THE ROMAN WALL 



n; rur STOR\ OF ENGLAND 

boundan of the Roman province, and it proved a strong 
harrier against the warlike Puis. 

South of the wall the Romans proceeded, as was 

their custom, to civilize the country. They gave the 

_ Britons peace, but the Roman peace was op- 

Romans nressive. Taxes wore very heavy. Roman 

Britain. officers were often greedy and cruel. The 

common people were reduced almost to slaverv. The 

Britons lost their skill in the use of weapons. What 

was worse, they lost their spirit of independence. 

In Britain, as in the other provinces oi the Roman 
Empire, the Romans built well-paved roads, in order 
that they might march their troops rapidly from place 
to plaee. There were four principal roads, reaching out 
from London to all parts oi the country. The one best 
known i> called Watling Street, and ran from Dover to 
London, and then northwest to Chester, These roads 
were built on a foundation oi broken stone, a foot or 
more deep, with a pavement oi hard blocks oi stone. 
fitted together. Some portions oi these roads remained 
in use for more than a thousand years. 

The Romans also introduced hotter methods oi 
agriculture. They brought in new kinds oi trees, such 
as the chestnut, the walnut, and the elm. They 
introduced new vegetables, such as the radish and the 
pea. and new animals, among them the rabbit. All 
oi these are now familiar in English country life. 

Some towns sprang up in Britain, during the three 
and a half centuries that Rome ruled that land ; and 
remains are found of handsome country residences 
railed "villas. " In the towns and villas. Latin was 
the recognized language. Bui in the country districts, 
away from the roads, the Britons retained their own 
language and their own customs. 



THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN 



17 



One thing which the Romans broughl to the Britons 
was the Christian religion. In some unknown 

Christian 

way, bul probably through the influence of wiigioa 

,1 |i. ^ ... . . introduced. 

humble soldiers, the Christian religion 

introduced into Britain. From there it was carried into 

the still free and barbarous island of Ireland. 

The man who carried Christianity to Ireland was 
Saint Patrick. While still a young man. in Britain, he 
was taken captive by a roving band and carried into 













./ ~ ;T L 



REMAINS OF A I 



Ireland. There he was kept, for a number of years, as a 
slave. He was encouraged to escape to Gaul bya dream, 

in which a voice said: "Thy ship is ready." Later he 
returned to Ireland, and preached the Gospel there. 
For more than thirty years be traveled up and flown the 
island, baptizing eon verts, and establishing ehurehes 
and monasteries. The Christian church has continued 
in Ireland without interruption ever since. Once every 
year, on Saint Patrick's day, even we Americans are 
reminded of the unselfish life of Ireland's most famous 
saint. 



18 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

Britain remained a part of the Roman Empire until 

about the year 410 after Christ. In the latter part of 

this time, the power of Rome was steadily 

Fall of the . r 

Roman growing weaker. Great pestilences came. 
The population of Italy decreased. The 
armies were composed of barbarians from outside the 
Empire. Farmers became "serfs/' who were obliged to 
give part of their produce to some one above them. A 
few great men were rich, but all the rest were poor. Civil 
wars arose, and the Empire was ready to go to pieces. 
Then the German barbarians crossed the Danube 
and the Rhine rivers, which formed the frontiers of the 
Empire, and began to roam about at pleasure. They 
came with their families and their goods, and province 
after province was overrun by them. Even Italy was 
not free from attack. Twice during the fifth century 
Rome itself was captured and given up to fire and pillage. 
Britain, meanwhile, passed out of Roman hands. 
Romans About the time that the first attack was 
abandon made on . Italy (410 A. D.) the Roman troops 
(4io a.d.i. were withdrawn from Britain for use else- 
where, and the inhabitants were notified that they must 
protect themselves. 

The Britons were in despair. They had almost 
forgotten how to fight, and they were unwilling to unite 
under one leader. Their old enemies, the Picts and 
Scots (wild tribes from Scotland and Ireland), began 
to attack them. The Britons resisted, but at first with 
little spirit. A last despairing letter, called "The Groans 
of the Britons," was sent to the chief general of Rome, 
in which they said: 

"The barbarians drive us to the sea; the sea throws 
us back on the barbarians. Thus two modes of death 
await us: we are either slain, or drowned." 



THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN 19 

Britain lay as a rich prize, ready to he taken by the 
strongest. And soon there came, from over the eastern 
sea, conquering bands of wandering Germans who 
settled in Britain and made it their own. 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Locate on the map the countries included in the Roman 

Empire. Locate London. Chester. 

2. What kind of people were the Romans' What did they do for 

the world .' 

3. Find out what you can about Julius Caesar. 

4. Was the Roman Conquest a good or a bad thing for Britain? 

Why? 

5. Find out what you can about St. Patrick. 



IV 



THE COMING OF THE ENGLISH 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Where the English came from; what sort of life they led in their 

old home; why they came to Britain; when. 
How long it took them to conquer Britain; the seven kingdoms 

which they founded; where they were; what became of the 

Britons. 
What their villages were like; how they used the land. What a 

township was; a "hundred"; a "shire." 
How the English were governed; the " Witenagemot"; the 

' ' thegns. ' ' 
Disappearance of Christianity and the Roman civilization from 

the conquered lands. 

The German tribes that invaded Britain were the 
Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. They were the ancestors 
of the English people of today. 

For many generations these tribes had dwelt in 

northern Germany, by the shores of the North Sea and 

the Baltic. Their ways of living were like 

The Old J & 

English in those of the other Germans of that time. 

Germany. . j 

They cleared little tracts of land in the 
gloomy forests, on which they raised a few bushels 
of grain and pastured their scrubby cattle. The men 
left most of the work to the women, while they 
engaged in hunting or went to war. These tribes had 
never been governed by the Romans, so they knew 
nothing of Roman civilization or of the Christian religion. 
More than any other Germans, perhaps, they loved the 
sea, a liking which their situation made it easy for them to 
gratify. They delighted to swoop down on unsuspecting 
coasts, gather what booty they could, and then take to 

20 



COMING OF THE ENGLISH 



21 



their ships again before resistance could be formed. A 
Roman poet sings of the Old English in these words: 

" Foes are they, fierce beyond other foes, and 
cunning as they are fierce. The sea is their school of 
war, and the storm is their friend. They are sea-wolves 
that prey on the pillage of the world!" 

So long as the Romans ruled Britain, the English 
made only pirate raids on that land. But when the 
Roman troops were withdrawn, an opportunity soon 
came for them to settle there, and to begin the conquest 
of the island. 

This opportunity arose out of the weakness of the 
Britons, and the attacks which the barbarous Picts and 
Scots were making upon them from the north 

! . i • They come 

and west. A ruler of the Britons named to Britain 

(449? A.D.). 

Vortigern, about the year 449, invited a band 

of the Old English 
sea - rovers to assist 
the Britons against 
the Picts and Scots. 
He promised to sup- 
ply them with provi- 
sions during the war, 
and to give them for 
their own an island 
near the mouth of the 
Thames river. 
The bargain was agreed to, and the English came, 
under the lead, it is said, of two brothers, named Hengist 
and Horsa — names which mean "the horse" and "the 
mare." They soon defeated the Picts, and freed the 
Britons from that danger. Then they quarreled with 
their employers, on the ground that the provisions 
furnished them were not sufficient. 




OLD ENGLISH SHIPS 



22 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



They 
conquer 
the Britons. 



"Unless more plentiful supplies are brought us," 
they said, "we will break our agreement with you, 
and ravage the whole country." 

The English were strengthened by the arrival of 
many new shiploads from their home lands, and war with 
the Britons followed. It lasted for nearly two centuries, 
and ended in the conquest by the newcomers of all that 
part of the island (' 'England, " or " Angle-land ") which 
we still call by their name. 

We know very little of the details of this struggle. 
It was a long and bitter 
contest, with 
much fierce and 
cruel fighting. 
Little by little, the Britons 
were driven back towards 
the west and north. When 
captured, they were either 
killed or enslaved. The 
Roman cities were either 
destroyed by fire, or were 
left unoccupied, and fell 
into ruins. Fresh bands of 
the English kept coming in, bringing their families, their 
cattle, and their goods. The Christian religion disappeared 
from all the eastern and southern parts of the island. 

"The priests were everywhere slain before the 
altars," says Bede, the oldest English historian. "The 
people were destroyed with fire and sword. Some of 
the miserable remainder, being taken in the mountains, 
were butchered in heaps. Some fled beyond the seas. 
Others led a miserable life among the woods, rocks, 
and mountains, with scarcely enough food to support 
life, and expecting every moment to be their last. '** 




OLD ENGLISH WARRIORS 
(From an old manuscript) 



COMING OF THE ENGLISH 23 

After one hundred and fifty years of fighting, the 
invaders did not hold quite all that the Romans had held. 
The western coast, from Cornwall in the south to the 
river Clyde in the north, was still British. All the north 
was still in the hands of the wild Celtic tribes. But 
from the Firth of Forth southward, all the eastern, 
central, and southeastern parts of the island passed from 
the old owners to the new. The Britons had been 
replaced by the English. The Jutes settled in the 
southeastern district, which formed the kingdom of Kent. 

The southern coast was occupied by the Saxons. 
Those nearest the Jutes formed the kingdom „ 

° The seven 

of the South Saxons or " Sussex. " Farther English 

kingdoms. 

west were the West Saxons, with their kingdom 

of "Wessex. " Just north of the Jutes were the East 

Saxons, in what is called "Essex." 

The greater part of the eastern coast, as well as 
the interior of the country, was in the hands of the 
Angles, who formed the kingdoms of " East Anglia, " 
"Mercia, "and "Northumberland" (the land north of 
the Humber river). 

These seven kingdoms are sometimes spoken of 
as the " Heptarchy, " which means " seven governments. " 

We may be very sure that the Britons resisted 
bravely, otherwise the conquest would not have taken 
so long. In later days, their descendants loved to tell 
stories of a great King, called Arthur, who led his people 
to many victories against the English. 

As the stories have it, King Arthur was pure in 
thought and deed, and was without fear. It was said 
that he was mysteriously cast up by the sea, . 

• " . l * Legend 

a new-born babe, to be heir to the kingdom, of King 

& Arthur. 

W T hen he became King he gathered warriors 

like himself in council, about the famous Round Table, 



24 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

and led them to war. He bore an enchanted sword 
of victory, which had come to him in a wonderful way. 
The poet Tennyson makes Arthur say: 

"Thou rememberest how 
In those old days, one summer noon, an arm 
Rose up from out the bosom of the lake, 
Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful, 
Holding the sword — and how I rowed across 
And took it, and have worn it, like a King." 

The stories say that King Arthur protected his 
people from their enemies for many years, and at last 
was miraculously carried away to a happy island, there 
to live until he should come again, and again rule Britain. 
A great number of stories have gathered about the name 
of Arthur, until the tales of the " Knights of the Round 
Table " have become as numerous and as famous as 
the thousand and one tales of the " Arabian Nights. " 

But in spite of King Arthur — if there really was 
such a person — the Britons were pushed back into the 
The mountains of the West. There, under the 

comelhe 6 ' name of the "Welsh" (which was a German 
"Welsh." worc ] f or "strangers"), they maintain them- 
selves to this day. The two races settled down, each in 
its own region. Sometimes there was war between them, 
sometimes peace. The English could no longer turn 
their whole strength against the Welsh, because there 
was much fighting among the different English 
kingdoms. 

The life of the English, in their new home, was 

much like what it had been in Germany. They lived 

_ ._ . . in small villages of rude and comfortless huts. 

Life in the to # 

English About each village lay the land belonging to 

villages. .... . 

it, divided into woodland, pasture, and tillable 
ground. The woodland and pasture were used by all 



COMING OF THE ENGLISH 



25 



the people in common. The tillable ground was divided 
into three fields. One-third was used for winter grain, 
one-third grew spring grain, and the remainder lay 
fallow — that is, was allowed to rest. Every year a 
change was made, so that each field lay fallow one year 




THRESHING 
Old English Farming Scenes 

out of every three. The fields were divided into long, 
narrow strips, and each man held a number of these 
strips, scattered over the field. No man had all his 
land in one piece. This system of landholding continued 
among the English for a thousand years — long after their 
other customs had seen great changes. 



26 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

The village and its lands usually formed a single 

" township. " The townships, in turn, were grouped into 

districts called " hundreds. " Each hundred 

dreds" and had its own public meeting, called the " moot, " 

which decided the affairs of the hundred. 

The warriors from all the hundreds of each kingdom 

met in a "folk-moot," or meeting of all the people. 

When the small kingdoms were combined, in later 

days, into larger kingdoms, these folk-moots became 

" shire -moots," or county courts, and the original 

kingdoms became "shires," or counties of the larger 

kingdom. For the whole kingdom there was then a 

meeting of the wise men called the "Witan," or the 

" Witenagemot. " 

In Germany, few of the tribes had kings. But 
when the English entered Britain the constant fighting 
obliged them to choose permanent leaders. It was easy 
for a successful military leader to increase his power. 
So, by the time the conquest of the Britons was ended, 
each of the English tribes had its King. 

Below the king, there were two classes of freemen — 

the old nobles who claimed descent from the gods, 

and the common people. But a new class of 

Classes x L 

of the nobles was arising, composed of those war- 

riors who followed the King most closely, and 
lived in his house. These were the King's "thegns," 
and they were destined to become more powerful than 
the old nobles. 

Below the freemen were the "slaves," who could be 
bought and sold like cattle, and had no rights at all. 
Then there was a class of "unfree" people, who could 
not be bought and sold, yet in some ways had not the 
rights of freemen, and could not go and come as they 
pleased. 



COMING OF THE ENGLISH 27 

The life of these Old English was very rude and 
simple. They had no great cities; they made no roads 
or bridges; they had no statues, no paintings, civilization 
no books. Where they found these things in Christianity 
the land, they destroyed them or neglected disa PP ear - 
them. When they drove out the Britons, they drove 
out with them all that made life easier and more refined. 
The Roman culture was all gone. The Britons long 
refused to send Christian missionaries among these 
English; so they continued their pagan worship in their 
new home. Heathen altars were set up, and sacrifices 
were offered to the Germanic gods. 

But the time was close at hand when the English, too, 
should be won to the faith of Christ. 



TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Find out what you can about the way the old Germans lived. 

2. How did the English Conquest of Britain differ from the Roman ? 

3. Find out what you can of the stories of King Arthur. (See 

Tennyson's "Idylls of the King.") 

4. Did the English Conquest of Britain produce more good or 

harm? Why? 



28 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



— 



Pic: s 



BRITAIN 

after the Erg'.ish Conquest 
about 607 



□ 



- 



s * 



Ang.-:: 

Saxons | 

^ Jutes pj 

Scots □ 

Britons or Welsh^ A ! 
Picts 




.c 




MAP OF SAXON KIN' 



THE ENGLISH ACCEPT 
CHRISTIANITY 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

By whom missionaries were sent to England: bow he became 
interested in the people there. 

The leader of the missionaries; where they landed: when: how 
they were received: the success which "they had: bow long it 
was before all England was Christian. 

What other missionaries came besides those from Rome: the dif- 
ference between Celtic and Eoman Christianity; which 
triumphed in England, and when. 

How the Church in England was organized. 

What English missionary preached on the continent. 

The vows taken by the monks: what a monastery was like: who 
Bede was. 

At Rome, one day. a monk named Gregory saw 
some white boys offered for sale as slaves. Their 
bodies were fair, their faces beautiful, and 

• o Gregory and 

their hair soft and hue. Gregorv asked the English 

slaves. 

whence they came. 

" From Britain." was the answer. " There the 
people are all fair, like these boys." 

Then he asked whether they were Christians, and 
was told that they were still pagans. 

"Alas." said he. "what a pity that lads of such fair 
faces should lack inward grace. " He wished next to 
know the name of their nation. 

"They are called Angles." was the reply. 

"They should be called angels, not Angles." said 
Gre^orv: "for thev have angelic faces. What is the 
name oi their king?" 

20 



30 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



"iElla, " was the answer. 

"Alleluia," said Gregory, making another pun, 
"the praise of God the Creator must be sung in those 
parts. " 

Gregory was so deeply impressed by the sight of these 

boys that he wished to go as a missionary to the English. 

Gregory But he had no opportunity then to do so. 

!f<?nar£s S " A few years later he became Pope, that is, 

to England. head of the Church< Jj e Wftg ^ j^^ ^ 

pious, and did so much to benefit the church that he is 

called Gregory the 

Great. He still 

remembered the 

English, and soon 

sent Augustine, a 

pious monk of < 

Rome, to preach 

the Gospel to that * 

people. 

Augustine, with 
forty companions, 




AN EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH 



i of Kent in 
The King of Kent had married 



Augustine landed in the English kingdon 

Kent 8 ^ tne y ear 5 ' r ' 

a Christian princess from Gaul, and was 
disposed to deal kindly with Augustine. But he 
received him in the open air, for fear some magic might 
be used if the meeting were held under a roof. The 
monks came up in procession, singing, and carrying a 
silver cross and a picture of Christ. 

After listening to the preaching of Augustine, the 
King said: 

"Your words and promises are fair, but they are 
new to us. I cannot approve of them so far as to forsake 
the religion which T have so long followed, with the 



ENGLISH ACCEPT CHRISTIANITY 



SI 



whole English nation. But we will give you favorable 
entertainment, and we do not forbid you to preach and 
to gain as many as you can to your religion. " 

The King gave Augustine and his companions a 
house to live in, in his capital, Canterbury. He also 
permitted them to repair an old Christian 

r '. The King 

church there, and to build a monastery. Soon of Kent 

. * converted. 

the earnest preaching and holy living ot the 

monks impressed the King and his 
people, and they became Christians. 
Thus Canterbury became the oldest 
of the English churches. When 
the church was organized a little 
later for all England, the Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury became its 
head, under the Pope. 

Other monks worked as mission- 
aries in different parts of England, 
but it was nearly a hundred years 
before all England accepted Chris- 
tianity. Sometimes, when a king- 
dom seemed completely converted, 
a new King would come to the 
throne who would drive out the 
Christian priests, destroy the 
churches, and restore the heathen 
worship. But the missionaries 

persevered, and in the end the Christian faith conquered. 
At one time the King of Northumberland called 




A CELTIC CROSS 



his leading men together to discuss the 

° n ... Northum- 

question of accepting Christianity. One of beriand 



converted. 



the thegns gave his opinion in these words: 

"The life of man in this world, O King, may 



be 



likened to what happens when you are sitting at supper 



32 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



with your thegns, in winter time. A fire is blazing on 
the hearth, and the hall is warm; but outside the rain and 
the snow are falling, and the wind is howling. A sparrow 
comes, and flies through the hall; it enters by one door, 
and goes out by another. While it is within the hall, it 
feels not the howling blast; but when the short space of 
rest is over, it flies out into the storm again, and passes 
away from our sight. Even so 
it is with the brief life of man. 
It appears for a little while; but 
what precedes it, or what conies 
after it, we know not at all. 
Wherefore, if this new teaching 
can tell us anything of this, let 
us harken and follow it." 

Then the missionary who had 
come to them, one of Augustine's 
followers, was allowed to speak. 
When he was through, the high 
priest of the pagan religion led 
the way in destroying the old 
temples and idols, saying: 

" The more diligently I sought 
after truth in that worship, the 
less I found it. " 

Most of the missionary work 
in the north of England was 
_ , . done bv monks of the old Celtic Christian 

Celtic mis- 

s i. on xT ries J n church, which had existed in Britain before 

the North. 

the English came, and which still flourished 

in Ireland. The Celtic missionaries in England came 

chiefly from the little island of Iona, off the western 

coast of Scotland, where there was a famous monastery. 

But these Celtic Christians had been so long shut off 




HEAD OF A BISHOP'S 
STAFF (Celtic) 



ENGLISH ACCEPT CHRISTIANITY 



33 



from the rest of Europe that their church was different 
from the Roman Church in some of its customs. They 
did not recognize the Pope's authority; they kept Easter 
at a different time; and their priests shaved their heads 
in a different fashion. 




RUINED CATHEDRAL. ISLAND OF IONA 

So disputes arose between the Roman missionaries 
and the Celtic missionaries; and to settle the question of 
which were right, the King of Northumber 
land called a meeting at Whitby. 
Roman missionaries showed that their time 
of keeping Easter was that used by all the world, except 
the Irish and the Britons; and that it was approved by 
the Pope, who was the successor of St. Peter, the chief 
of the apostles. Then the King asked the Celtic 
missionaries: 



m, Roman 
1 ne Christianity 
triumphs. 



34 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

"Is it true that the keys of heaven were given to 
Peter by our Lord ? " 

And when they admitted this, the King said : 

"If Peter is the doorkeeper, I will never contradict 
him, but will obey his decrees in all things, lest when I 
come to the gates of heaven they should not open for me. " 

From this time forward the English church followed 
the Roman customs, and after a time the Celtic churches 
began to do likewise.. Thus the Church in the British 
Isles became united, and was brought into closer 
connection with the rest of the world. 

Soon the need was seen of a better organization of 

the Church in England. The whole land was divided 

™. ^ ...into two "provinces," over each of which 

The English l ' 

church W as placed an archbishop, one with his 

organized. l r 

cathedral church at Canterbury, the other at 
York. Under each archbishop were a number of 
bishops, each with his cathedral church, and each in 
charge of a certain district called a "diocese." Each 
diocese was divided into " parishes, " and for each parish 
there was provided a parish priest, who conducted the 
services of the parish church and looked after the 
welfare of its people. 

Within a century and a half after the coming of 

Augustine, the English church was one of the best 

r. .• *_ • organized and most noted in Christendom. 

English mis- & 

sionaries in Learning flourished, and missionaries went 

Germany. ° 

to the continent to aid in spreading Christi- 
anity among the Germans of the old country, who were 
still heathen. 

The most famous of these English missionaries was 
St. Boniface. He twice made the long journey to Rome; 
and with the support of the Pope, and of the King of 
the Franks, who now ruled Gaul, he restored the Gallic 



ENGLISH ACCEPT CHRISTIANITY 



35 



church, and organized that of Germany. Everywhere 
he brought the Church into close dependence upon the 
Pope. In 7.55, he went to Frisia, on the borders of the 
North Sea, and was there slain by the heathen Frisians. 




CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL 
Begun in the twelfth century 



Thus he found the crown of martyrdom, which he 
eagerly sought. 

Most of these early missionaries were monks. They 
lived according to a set of rules drawn up by St. 
Benedict, a famous Italian monk of the sixth century; 
and everywhere that they went, they established 
monasteries. 



36 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

On joining a monastery, a man took three vows — 

that he would obey his superiors, that he would never 

own any property, and that he would never 

and mon- marry. These were the vows of "povertv," 

asteries. •' , 

"chastity," and "obedience." Each monas- 
tery was defended by a wall, within which were the 
" cloister, " the kitchen, the church, and other buildings. 
The "cloister" was the covered passageway which inclosed 
the inner court; about it were the monks' "dormitory" 
where they slept, and the "refectory" where they ate 
their meals. 

The monks were required to attend religious 
services at midnight, and seven times during the day, 
beginning at daybreak. Certain hours of the day were 
set aside for work with the hands, and others for reading 
and meditation. The monks dressed in coarse woolen 
gowns, generally black; and they slept on hard beds, and 
ate the plainest of food. About the monasteries were 
lands which the monks cultivated. They drained 
marshes, cleared forests, and improved poor lands, 
so that the monasteries became models of agriculture 
for all the country. Besides this, they gave alms to the 
poor, and sheltered travelers. 

The rule of St. Benedict required each monk to 

give part of his time to study, and so the monks gathered 

, libraries and taught schools. There were 

The monks t & 

f id . no printed books, and some of the monks spent 

learning. \ m ^ 

their days in copying " manuscript " books by 
hand. Whoever wished to become a scholar was obliged 
to become a monk, or at least to attend a monastery 
school. Some of the greatest scholars in Europe were 
found in the English monasteries, and when the emperor 
Charlemagne wished to establish schools in his kingdom, 
he called to his court one of these English monks. 



ENGLISH ACCEPT CHRISTIANITY 37 

The most famous of these monks in England was 
Bede, to whom we owe much of our knowledge of these 
times. He entered the monastery of Jarrow, Life of 
at the mouth of the river Tyne, when he was B^d < r ionk 
only nine years old; and he lived there the rest < 673 - 735 )- 
of his life — for over fifty years. He learned all that any 
schools of that day could teach him. He did his share 
of the labor of the monastery, but found time also to 
teach in the school, and to write many books in Latin, 
which was then the language of educated men. Most 
of his books were explanations of the Scriptures, 
and have been lost; but he wrote an Ecclesiastical 
History of England which has been carefully preserved, 
and which is now almost the only record we have of the 
earliest days of English rule. 

One of Bede's pupils tells us of the last days of his 
master's life, when he knew that death must come within 
a few days. In spite of pain, Bede was cheerful, 
and continued his literary work. On the last day 
the boy, who was writing what Bede dictated to 
him, said: 

"Most dear master, there is still one chapter wanting. 
Do you think it troublesome to be asked any more 
questions ?" 

Bede answered: "It is no trouble. Take your pen, 
and write fast." 

They worked all morning and half the afternoon. 
Then Bede stopped to divide among his fellow monks 
such little things as he possessed. Then he talked with 
them a while, and bade them farewell. At last the boy 
said : 

" Dear master, there is yet one sentence not written. " 

He answered: "Write quickly." 

Soon the bov said : " The sentence is now written. " 



38 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

Bede replied: "It is well, you have said the truth. 
It is ended." 

"And thus, sitting on the pavement of his little cell, 
singing, ' Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the 
Holy Ghost,' when he had named the Holy Ghost he 
breathed his last, and so departed to the heavenly 
kingdom. " 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Find out all you can about Augustine. (Do not confuse him 

with the great church writer of the same name, who died 
in the year 430.) 

2. Describe the gods in whom the English believed before they 

became Christians. Which ones are remembered in our 
names for the days of the week? 

3. Find out something about the Island of lona, and the mis- 

sionaries who came from there. 

4. What benefit were the monks to the world? 

5. Locate on the map, Rome, Canterbury, Whitby, lona, Jarrow. 



VI 



KING ALFRED AND THE DANES 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 
By whom England was first united into a single kingdom. 
To which of the seven kingdoms he belonged; when he ruled. 
Who the Danes were; when they first attacked England; by 

whom their conquests were stopped. 
When Alfred was King; how he dealt with the Danes; what part 

of the land they held. 
What Alfred did for the army; for the laws; for industry; for 

learning. 

The union of the Church in England helped to 
brine; about a union of all the English king- 

I i -ill t*ti i i The Church 

doms under a single head. When men had helps unite 

° . . England. 

formed the habit of acting together in church 

matters, they found it easier to act together in matters 

of government. 

Of the seven kingdoms which made up the " Hep- 
tarchy, " three were larger and stronger than the others. 
These were Northumberland, Mercia, and Wessex. 
Each of these tried in turn to secure control over the 
rest. During the seventh century, the Kino; of North- 
umberland was recognized as leader. Durino; the eighth 
century, the King of Mercia held that position. Then, 
early in the ninth century, the leadership passed to the 
King of Wessex. 

The first of the Wessex kings to hold this overlord- 
ship was Egbert, who ruled from 802 to 839. In his 
early days he was obliged to flee from Eng i and 
England to the court of the great Frankish gjjjf* by 
Emperor, Charlemagne. When his fortunes ( 892 - 839 )- 
changed, and he returned to his kingdom, he secured 

39 



40 



THE STORY OF ENCxLAND 



more power than any English king before him. The 
other kingdoms lasted for a time, and had their own 
kings, but all submitted to Egbert and paid tribute to 
him. From the reign of King Egbert, then, we may 
date the union of the English kingdoms. 

Perhaps this union would not have continued if 
it had not been that all parts of England were soon after 





AN ENGLISH KING 
Tenth century 



WOMAN'S COSTUME 
Tenth century 



exposed to a great and lasting danger, through the 

invasions of the Danes. 

The Danes were inhabitants of the northern lands, 

which now form the kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, 
and Sweden. They were "Low-Germans," 
like the English; and like the ancestors of the 
English they were great pirates and sea-rovers. 

In the eighth and ninth centuries they began to swarm 

forth from their northern homes and overrun all western 



Deeds 
of the 
"Danes.' 



KING ALFRED AND THE DANES 



41 



Europe. They were called "Northmen" in France, and 
" Danes " in England. They called themselves " Vikings," 
or men from the "wicks" (or inlets) of their home 
country, from which their swift ships came forth. 
They plundered the coasts of Germany, France, Eng- 
land, Ireland, and even Italy. They discovered and 
settled Iceland about the year 875, and Greenland a 
century later. Soon after, they visited "Vinland," 
to the west, 
which we believe 
was the then un- 
known continent 
of America. 

In France, 
a f t e r repeated 
attacks through 
all the ninth 
century, the 
Northmen at last 
settled down in 
a large district 
about the mouth 
of the river Seine, which was given them by the French 
King. There they became known as the "Normans," 
and the name Normandy is still given to that district. 

In England, the first attacks of the Danes were made 
in the year 787, and were mere pirate raids for plunder. 
Eater they came in great armies, and began The 
to make conquests and settle down, as thev £"*«* . 

1 m " England. 

had done in France. The Danes were still 
heathen, as the English had been when they first came; 
so they destroyed and plundered the monasteries and 
churches, where the most precious things were to be 
found, and slew or drove out the priests and monks. 




A VIKING SHIP 

Note the oars with which it was rowed, and the 

shields along the side 



4^ 



THK STOi: ENGLAND 



Little bv little, the Danes overran one Eng s 
:»m after another, until all had been taken except 
-elf. 

vere met bv the young King, Alfred — 

~ the wisest, best, and greatest King that ever reigned in 

/.and." — and the - checked 

and their conquests stopped. When he 

yen _ Alfred accompanied his father, the 

_ . to Rome. He spent a year or two 

there, and became a favorite of the Pope. At home, his 



Y;_:- ::' 

r r ~ -' ^ 




; - 



- 



mother trained her children carefully, and encou: 
them to study. One day she said to them: 

Little book, with its clear black 
writing, and the beautiful letter at the beginning, painted 
in rexL blue, and zold ? It shall belong to the one who first 
. - -■ : ..• .-- - 

\\ you really give that 
beautiful book to me if I learn it first T ' 



KING ALFRED AND THE DANES 

Y - her reply, " I really will/ ' 

Alfred then took the book to his teacher, and - 
learned to repeat the Thus he not only earned the 

coveted prize, but also showed the quickness of mind and 
interest in learning which made him noted in after years. 

As .Alfred grew older he continued his studies, and 
took part also in hunting and in outdoor sports . When he 
_ " to manhood, he found sterner work to do. for the 
Danes were now advancing into Wess 

Alfred's older brother. Ethelred. wa< Kir _ ^ssex, 

and Alfred worked loyally to help him. Of the year 
a historian of that time writ— 

"Nine general battles were fought th> -outh 

of the Thames, besides which Alfred, the Ki: _ 
brother, and single rulers of shires and king's the_ 
oftentimes made attacks on thtr Danes which are not 
counted. " 

In one of these battles. King Ethelred was wounded 
• adlv that he died, and Alfred became „ M w 
king in his place. Alfred ruled for thirtv <»■»« kiag 
years, from 871 to 

During the first seven years that he 
Alfreds attention 5 g en chiefly to the Da: 
Again and again they made peace, and soon broke it. 
1 he Danish army spent the winter in fortified camps in 
the land, but the English, when the sumnir: s _ :ing 
:ered to their homes, to protect their 
families and prepare their crops. 

During one such winter. Alfrc Is _ ;e in 

-mall fortified island called Athelney. amid the 
: Wess A::erwards the people 

told - ies f how he. wandering alone in »■£ **■« 
these _ s .eltered in a herdsman s 

hut. and scolded by the herdsman's wife for allov 



U THE STORY OF KM; LAM) 

some coarse cakes to burn, which she had told him to 
watch. An old song represents the woman as saying to 
the King, whom she did not know: 

"Can't you mind the cakes man ? 
And don't you see them burn? 
I'm hound you'll eat them fast enough, 
As soon as 'tis the turn." 

Another story tells how he went into the Danish 
camp, in disguise as a minstrel, or wandering singer, in 
order to get news of their plans; and how the Danes were 
so pleased with his singing that he had difficulty in 

getting away again. These stories the people told out of 
love for Alfred's memory, but we are not sure that the 
tales are really true. 

When the hardships of that winter were over. Alfred 

gathered his army together and attacked the Danes. He 

defeated them badly, and drove them into 

His vie- m 

tory and their fortified camp. There he besieged 

treaty. r <° 

them for fourteen days, and as they were 
now separated from their ships, and could get no sup- 
plies, their King. Guthrum, agreed to make peace. 

" And then," says the old chronicle. " the army delivered 
hostages to King Alfred, with many oaths that they 
would leave his kingdom, and also promised him that 
their king should receive baptism. And this they accord- 
ingly fulfilled. About three weeks after this, King 
Guthrum came to him. with some thirty of the most 
distinguished men of their army, and the king was his 
godfather at baptism. And he was twelve days with the 
King; and he greatly honored him and his companions 
with gifts." 

By a revision of this treaty made a few years later, the 
Danes were to have all the country of England north and 



KING ALFRED AND THE DANES 45 

west of the Thames river, and of the old Roman road 
called Watling Street. Only the country south of that 
line, including London, remained to the English, under 
the rule of the West-Saxon king, Alfred. 

The country which the Danes ruled was known as the 
" Danelaw." There they settled down and became tillers 
of the soil, just as the English had done four 
centuries before this. The Danes were of law" given " 
near kin to the English, both in language and 
in ways of living. Before many generations had passed, 
they all became Christians and blended with their Eng- 
lish neighbors. But, to this dav, northern England 
shows some features which remind us that once it was 
ruled by these rude, freedom-loving Danes. For example, 
we find many hundreds of names of villages and towns 
there which end in the syllable "-by," as in "Derby." 
This was the Danish word for "town," and corresponds 
to the old English "-ton" or "-ham," which we find so 
frequently on the map of southern England. 

After the treaty with Guthrum, Wessex for some time 
enjoyed peace, and Alfred had opportunity to repair the 
damages done by war. 

Among other things, Alfred fortified and partly re- 
built the city of London. For some time it had been in 
the hands of the Danes, but it was now freed, 
and its old inhabitants restored. London was rebuilds 

London. 

located at the lowest point on the Thames 
river at which a bridge could be built, or at which mer- 
chants could find solid ground for landing goods from 
their ships. It was already an important place in 
Roman days, and it was to become the greatest city 
of England. Long afterward, when ocean commerce 
developed, its splendid harbor helped to make it the 
greatest city in the world. But for several centuries after 



46 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

Alfred, its citizens were as much interested in agriculture 
as in carrying on their small trades, and commerce on 
a large scale was unknown. 

The great trouble with the English army was that it 

was not a regular army, and the king could not keep it in 

the field all the year round because the men 

He improves J . 

the army had to go home to attend to their farming. 

and navy. ° # ° 

To remedy this, Alfred divided all the able- 
bodied men of his kingdom into 
three groups, one of which was to be 
always ready for war. After a short 
time, these would go to their homes, 
and others would take their places. 





Front view- 



Side view 
GOLD JEWEL OF ALFRED 
Found at Athelney 

Alfred saw also that the English 
must put their trust in the sea. He 
had a large number of ships built, 
after his own pattern, twice as large 
as those of the Danes. These proved 
very useful when the Danes renewed their attacks. 

Alfred also improved the government. To make it 

easier to find out what the law was, Alfred collected 

and revised the old laws of the kingdom. 

law- But he did this work modestly, and without 

making. J 9 

reckless change. 
"I, Alfred," he wrote, "gathered these laws together, 
and commanded many of them to be written which our 
forefathers held, those which seemed to me good. And 



KING ALFRED AND THE DANES 47 

many of those which seemed to me not good, I rejected, 
and in otherwise commanded them to be held. For I 
durst not venture to set down in writing much of my 
own, for it was unknown to me what of it would please 
those who should come after us." 

Alfred encouraged industry of all kinds. He brought 
many skilful men to England from foreign countries. 
He himself could show his gold workers, and tt 

n m He aids in- 

other artisans, how to do their work. He dustry and 

learning. 

invented a method of counting the hours by 

means of candles, carefully made so that six of them 

would burn just twenty-four hours. He also invented a 

lantern, with transparent sides made of horn (for glass 

was scarce or unknown) to keep 

fe drafts away from the candle and 

jt&w?% make it burn better. His mind was 

JK^^^m constantly at work, seeking to better 

I t the condition of his country. 

^f'^lpT But Alfred thought none of these 

'^»'^''^> : things could help his people much 

■r*-** unless they improved in mind and 

OLD ENGLISH . .. tt l J *U ■ 

horn lantern spirit. He lamented their growing 

ignorance, through the destruction 

of the monasteries, with their schools and libraries. 

"Formerly," said he, "foreigners came to this land in 
search of wisdom and instruction, but we should now 
have to get teachers from abroad, if we would have 
them." 

So he invited many learned men to come to his king- 
dom and help instruct his people. 

Alfred thought the greatest need of all was books 
which his people could read — books in English, and not 
Latin. 

"I wondered extremely," he said, "that the good and 



48 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



wise men who were formerly all over England, and had 
perfectly learned all the books, did not wish to translate 
them into their own tongue." 

He set himself to put into English some of the best 

books. First came a history of the world, and to this he 

He trans- added his own account of two voyages into 

!nto S b °° kS tne northern seas, made by Danes whom 

English. j le j m( ] mv it e d to England. Then came 

Bede's History of England, besides a book of religious 

instruction, and one of stories, by Pope Gregory the 




HOUSE OF AN ENGLISH THEGN (Eleventh century) 
The lord and his lady are giving alms to the poor 

Great; and also a book on philosophy, in which Alfred 
gave many of his own most serious thoughts. All these 
works are still preserved, but our language has changed 
so much since Alfred's day that they are now like books 
in a foreign tongue. 

Another great work, prepared under Alfred's direction, 
was the Old English Chronicle. This is a record of 
events, year by year, kept by the monks. For the years 



KING ALFRED AND THE DANES 49 

of Alfred's reign, it gives us most of the knowledge that 
we have, and it may be that the king himself wrote 
portions of it. No other European nation has so good a 
record of its early years, written in its own language. 

Alfred died after a reign of nearly thirty years. The 
English people cherished his memory as "England's 
Darling," and we now call him ""Alfred the Great." 
He was a brave warrior, a wise lawmaker, a patient 
teacher, and a watchful guardian of his people. Above 
all, he was a true and pure man, loving his family and 
training his children with great care. The secret of his 
success is told in his own words: 

"To sum up all," he said, "it has ever been my desire 
to live worthily while I was alive, and after my death to 
leave to those that should come after me my memory in 
good works." 

Alfred's work was indeed good, for he saved England 
from being completely conquered by the Danes. Be- 
cause he kept his courage at the trying time, „„ 

y » <■' & What he 

his own kingdom was preserved, and the did for 

& L England. 

Danes were settled beyond the Thames, 
there to become almost Englishmen. Because he was 
wise and patient, he made his kingdom strong, so that 
his descendants were able, little by little, to regain all 
that the Danes had taken, and to become again, in later 
years, kings of all England. 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. What things helped to unite all England into a single kingdom? 

2. Describe the life of the "Vikings," and tell the great things 

which they did. 

3. Tell some of the stories about Alfred. 

4. Find out what you can about the early history of London. 

5. Write a brief account, in your own words, of Alfred 's life and 

character. 



VII 
THE NORMANS CONQUER ENGLAND 



POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

When the Danes began again to come into England; how King 

Ethelred sought to get rid of them; how he angered the Danish 

King, Sweyn. 
How Canute became King of England; what other kingdoms he 

ruled; how he treated England; when he was King. 
When and how the Danes ceased to rule England; who then 

became King; his character; whom the English then chose as 

King; date of his death. 
William of Normandy; his claim to the English throne; the aid 

which he received from the Church; what other attack on 

England aided his invasion. 
Where and when the decisive battle was fought; how William 

overcame the English; how he became King. 
The way in which the Norman Conquest was a turning point in 

English history. 



The descendants of Alfred, for three generations, were 
wise and strong men, and they succeeded in reuniting 
all England under one rule. 

But after three generations a reckless and foolish King- 
ruled England, called Ethelred the "Rede-less," or 
New " Despiser of Counsel." In his time new bands 

the^nel °^ Danes invaded the country, in great nuni- 
(980) bers, intending to conquer the kingdom. Yet 

the land was so divided, by the jealousies of the great men 
and the weakness of the King, that Ethelred did not 
fight them, but paid them money to go elsewhere. 

This only stirred up the Danes to renewed attacks, 
and each time they came the King paid them a still 
larger sum of money, which he obtained by laying upon 

50 



THE NORMANS CONQUER ENGLAND 51 



the people a tax called "Danegeld." The Danegeld 
and the ravages of war together brought great poverty 
upon the land. The people became discontented, and 
the great men rebellious. Then King Ethelred did a 
foolish and wicked thing: he treacherously put to death, 
on a certain day, the Danes who were settled in England, 
for fear lest they might aid their invading brothers. 

This deed caused Sweyn, King of Denmark, to swear 
a great oath that he would conquer the land and avenge 
his people. He came 
to England with a Ethelred 




great fleet and a 



driven out. 



After a long war, 
in which the English never fought 
unitedly under a capable leader, 
Ethelred fled to Normandy, and 
his subjects acknowledged Sweyn 
as King of England (1014). 

One month later, Sweyn died, 
and the Danish army chose his 
son Canute to succeed him. 
Then the English restored their 
old ruler, Ethelred; but he soon 
died, and after a short war 
Canute (in 1016) was accepted as 
King by the whole land. 
At first Canute was very harsh, banishing or putting 
to death all the English leaders whom he feared. But 
when once he was firmly settled in power, he 
ruled with justice and wisdom, treating the Dane 
Danes and English alike. He sent his army England 
back to Denmark, except a few thousand 
warriors called the "House-carls," whom he kept as a 
standing army. He placed Englishmen in the highest 



KING CANUTE 



52 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



places, both in the church and in the state. He 
restored the good laws of the English, and ruled as 
if he were himself an Englishman. And though ho 
ruled over Denmark and Norway as well as over 
England, he usually made his home among his 
English subjects. 

At one time Canute, like thousands of other Christians, 
went on a pilgrimage to Rome, to see the Pope and 
to worship in Saint Peter's church. While he was 
there he wrote to his subjects in 
England a friendly letter, in which 
he said: 

" Be it know i. to all of you, thai 

I have humbly vowed !<> Almighty 

„. , God henceforth to rule 

His letter 

homefromthe kingdoms and the 

Rome. 

peoples subject t<> me 
with justice and mercy, giving jusi 
judgments in all matters. I there- 
fore command all sheriffs and 
magistrates, throughout my whole 
kingdom, that they use n<> unjust 
violence to any man. rich or poor. 
but that all, high and low. rich or 
poor, shall enjoy alike impartial 
law." 




CANUTE'S ENGLISH 
QUEEN, EMMA 



Canute was King of England for nearly twenty years 
(1016-1035), giving to the land peace and good govern- 
ment. After his death his two sons, one after the other. 
ruled in England, each dying a few years after becom- 
ing King. Then (1042) the English chose as King 
a prince from the old English line, son of Ethelred the 
Red el ess. 



THE NORMANS CONQUER ENGLAND 53 



This King was so religious thai he gained the name 
Edward '"the Confessor." He would have been a good 
monk, but he made a poor King. He had Weak rule 
lived most of his life in Normandy, and did ^ e t:dward 
not understand the English people. He loved Confessor 
the Normans, who had improved rapidly since their 
Viking ancestors settled in France, ;m<l were now more 
cultured tlian the 



listened to thei 
Lions in Eng 
the English 



English. Edward clung to them and 

idvice, and placed them in high posi- 



tions in England 



; 1 1 1 1 : 




SEAL OF EDWARD 
THE CONFESSOR 



Hut the Norm. ins looked down upon 
treated them badly and oppressed 
them. The English, in turn, were 
jealous and resentful, and con- 
flicts arose. 

At last, under the lead of their 

most powerful man. Earl ( rod win, 
die English took up arms and 

forced the King to dismiss the 
Normans from their positions. 
From that time. Earl Godwin was 
the greatest man in the kingdom, 

and after his d ea t h his son, 
Harold, rose to equal power. 

Edward the Confessor died after a reign of twenty- 
four years (1042-1066), and was buried in the <jreat 
church of Westminster, which he had built. 
Before his death, it is said, he prophesied elected 

1 ! king (1( 

great trouble for England. lie left no son to 

succeed him, and the Witan, or council of "wise men," 

chose Karl Harold, son of Godwin, to he King. 

Then the trouble which Edward prophesied speedily 
came upon the land, for William, Duke of Normandy, 
claimed the crown, and made ready to enforce his claim 
bv war. 



Harold 
cted 
ig (1066) 



54 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



This William of Normandy had risen, through diffi- 
culties, to a position of great power in France. His 
wiinam of father, who was duke before him, died when 
claims ndy William was only seven or eight years old, 
England, leaving the boy to struggle against the rebel- 
lions of powerful nobles. While still a child, his guardians 
were murdered and he was barely rescued by his uncle. 
Again, while he was a very young man, he was obliged 
to save himself by a long night ride alone. But, from an 
early age, William showed warlike power and decision 
of character beyond his 
years. When he came 
to manhood, he speedily 
subdued all rebellions 
and brought Normandy 
completely under his 
control. More than that, 
he invaded a neighbor- 
ing district, in France, 
and compelled its count 
to acknowledge his 
supremacy. He thus became so powerful as to be almost 
the equal of the King of France himself. 

Really, William had no right to the English crown, 
as Harold had been chosen by the Witan, and 
had been regularly crowned. The crown belonged to the 
nation, and the wise men could bestow it as they saw 
fit. But William declared that Edward had promised 
the English crown to him; and also that Harold, who 
had once been shipwrecked on the French coast, and had 
fallen into William's hands, had sworn a sacred oath 
to support him in becoming King of England. There- 
fore, when Edward died, William prepared to invade 
England, and to drive Harold from his newly won throne. 




A NORMAN SHIP 



THE NORMANS CONQUER ENGLAND 55 

From Normandy, France, and elsewhere, William 
gathered warriors for his invasion. The Pope, who had 
a quarrel with England, blessed the expedition 
and sent a consecrated banner. After delay- Norman 

" invasion. 

ing some time for a favorable wind, the expe- 
dition set out, and landed without resistance. On leap- 
ing from his ship, William stumbled and fell flat upon 
his face. His followers exclaimed at this bad omen, but 
William's presence of mind prevented any injurious 
effect. 

"By the splendor of God," he cried, "I hold England 
in my hands! " 

Harold, meanwhile, prepared to resist. As the 
Chronicle says, he "gathered so great a ship force, and 
also a land force, as no King here in the land had done 
before, because it was made known to him that William 
would come hither and win this land; all as it afterward 
happened." .' 

But while Harold was guarding the southern coast 
against the Normans, word was brought to him that the 
King of Norway had landed in the north of England 
with an army. 

So Harold marched northward, to meet this new foe, 
leaving the southern coast unguarded. He won a great 
victory, for he slew the Norwegian king and destroyed 
his army. Then Harold returned at once to the south — 
only to learn that William had now crossed the Channel, 
and had landed on English soil. 

Harold's army had lost many of its men. But he took 
his House-carls, together with such other men as he could 
gather, and marched toward Hastings. There he forti- 
fied a hill called Senlac, and awaited the attack of the 
Normans. 



56 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



It was on October 14, 106G,that the decisive battle took 

place. Harold's men were on foot, and carried light 

iavelins for hurling and swords or battle axes 

Battle of J . rrM 

Hastings for striking. They were drawn up so that 

(1066). . . 

their shields overlapped one another, making 
a solid wall of defense. William had two kinds of 
warriors: crossbow men on foot, who were placed at the 
front; and, behind these, the knights on horseback, 



D:-REXMNTERF6C 7 

TVS-.EST 




DEATH OF HAROLD 

Harold is the second figure from the left. The inscription (in Latin) reads: 

"Harold the King is slain." To his right is the banner of Wessex. 

Note that the armor consisted of disks of metal 

fastened to leather or cloth 



wearing iron caps and rude coats of mail, and carrying 
swords and strong lances. 

One of the Norman knights asked that he might 
strike the first blow. When this was granted, he rode 
forward, tossing his sword in the air and catching it, 
and singing gaily an old song about the deeds of the 
great warrior, Roland. Two Englishmen fell by his 
hand before he himself was slain. 



THE NORMANS CONQUER ENGLAND 57 

Then the battle began in earnest, and raged all day 
until sunset. In spite of their heavy horsemen, the 
Normans were unable to break the English line. Three 
horses were killed under William, but he received no 
injury- Once the cry went forth, "The Duke is down!" 
and the Normans began to give way. But William tore 
off his helmet, that they might better see his face, and 
cried : 

"I live, and by God's help shall have the victory [" 

At length, a portion of the Norman troops turned to 
flee, and some of the English, disobeying Harold's 
orders, left their line to go in pursuit. These English 
were then easily cut off and destroyed. William took a 
hint from this, and ordered a pretended flight of all the 
Normans. Large numbers of the English followed, and 
the Normans turned and cut them down. 

But Harold and his two brothers, together with the 
House-carls, still stood firm, and swung their battle axes 
beneath the Golden Dragon banner of 
Wessex. At last an arrow, shot into the air f 
by William's order, struck Harold in the eye, 
and he fell. The English then fled — all except the 
House-carls, who fought on until the last man was de- 
stroyed. 

Thus William and his Normans conquered England. 
No further resistance was possible. Marching slowly 
toward London, he was there acknowledged 

. . & William 

king bv the Witan; and on Christmas Dav, becomes 

, . king (1066). 

in the great church at Westminster, built by 
Edward, he put on the English crown. 

The victory of the Normans was a turning point 
in English history. Britons, Romans, English, Danes, 
and Normans, — all made their conquests and left 
their successive impressions on the life of the island. 



58 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

This, however, is the last of the invasions. Never after- 
ward does a foreign foe take possession of English soil. 
Henceforward, what England is to be is determined not 
by any outside power, but by her own inhabitants. 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Compare King Ethelred with King Alfred. 

2. Was Canute's conauest a good or bad thing for England? 

Why? 

3. What were the causes of the weakness of the rule of Edward 

the Confessor? 

4. Imagine yourself one of Harold 's soldiers, and describe the 

Norman Conquest. 

5. Describe the Conquest from the point of view of a follower of 

Duke William. 

6. Find out what other great things the Normans accomplished 

besides the Conquest of England. 



VIII 
THE RULE OF THE NORMANS 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

How William treated the English who rebelled; what region 
suffered most severely; what he did with the lands of the 
English. 

What was meant by fief, vassal, homage, fealty, villain, aids; 
the condition on which a lord granted laud to a vassal. 

How William prevented his barons from becoming too powerful; 
in what way his rule was a benefit to England; the "New 
Forest "; ' ' Domesday Book. ' ' 

How William I. died; when; by whom he was succeeded in 
England; in Normandy. 

The character of William II.; how he died. 

The dates when Henry I. was King; how he ruled; how Nor- 
mandy was reunited to England; his plan for the succession. 

The condition of England under Stephen; how this was ended; 
by whom. 

For five years, after he became King, William was 
chiefly occupied in putting down English revolts. The 
disturbances arose in all parts of the country, „ ^ „, 

! , J Rebellions 

but the northern counties were the most of English 

crushed. 

obstinate. The city of York repeatedly served 
as a center of resistance. Terrible punishment was 
finally inflicted upon that rebellious region. The inhabi- 
tants were driven out or put to death. Not a house 
or building of any kind was left standing. Nothing 
was spared which could serve as food or shelter for 
human beings. The entire region was left uninhabited 
and desolate, and for centuries afterward it bore the 
marks of the Conqueror's vengeance. 

59 



60 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



By such cruel treatment, William at last convinced 

the English that he was determined to be master of their 

country. Those who had supported Harold, 

Distribu- •> L L • i i 

tion of or had resisted the Normans, he punished 
by. seizing their lands on the ground that they 
were forfeited. To many of the English he restored their 
lands, after they had taken an oath to support and serve 
him. Other forfeited lands were used to reward his 
followers. Norman lords 
thus took the place which 
English thegns and earls 
had held as landlords, 
and the common people 
became subject to the 
Normans, as they had 
formerly been to their 
English masters. The 
method of landholding 
which William estab- 
lished was already well 
known i n Normandy, 
and other countries of 

western Europe, and is what we know as"fedual tenure." 

Under this system, all the land belonged in theory to 

the King; but most of it was occupied by great lords, who 

held it on condition that they assist the King 

Feudal in war. Each lord was bound to furnish a 

system. 

certain number of armed and mounted 
warriors, in proportion to the size of his estate. To get 
men with whom to fulfill this obligation, these " tenants- 
in-chief," as they were called, granted portions of their 
lands to "sub-tenants," on similar conditions. These in 
turn sub-let to others; and so it went on, down to the 
simple peasants (called "villains"), who actually tilled 




WTLLTAM I., THE CONQUEROR 



THE RULE OF THE NORMANS 61 

the soil. The name given to an estate which was held 
on condition of military service was "benefice" or "fief." 
The fiefholder became the "vassal" or personal 
dependent of his lord. When he was put in possession 
of his land, the "vassal" knelt unarmed before his lord, 
placed both hands in his, and swore to be "his man" 
(homo, in Latin), and to serve him as a vassal ought to 
serve his lord. This was called "doing homage." Then 
the vassal arose, and the lord gave him the kiss of peace, 
and the vassal swore "fealty," — that is, fidelity, — to him. 
Fiefs were generally hereditary, the son of a deceased 
vassal being permitted to succeed to his father's 
estates, on condition that he paid a sum of money, did 
homage, and swore fealty to the lord of the fief. 

The lords owed their vassals "protection," while the 
vassals owed "service" to their lords. This service was 
partly military service, as mounted knights, for forty 
days each year. The lord could also call upon his 
vassals to come to his court, at certain times, and assist 
him with their counsel and advice. In addition, he might 
call upon them to serve him on certain occasions by 
giving him money which they in turn collected from 
their villains. These payments were called "aids," and 
could be collected on three occasions, — when the lord's 
eldest son was made a knight, when his eldest daughter 
was married, and to ransom the lord himself, if he should 
be taken captive. 

On the Continent, the feudal system weakened the 
power of the King because it created a tie between the 
lords and their tenants which was stronger 

. & William's 

than the tie which bound them to the King, checks on 

. t nis Barons. 

Thus, if a great lord in France rebelled, his 

tenants supported him rather than the King, and the 

whole land was filled with confusion. In England, 



62 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

William took pains to prevent his lords from becoming 
too powerful. The estates of the great landholders were 
scattered in different parts of the country, so that no 
man might be able to collect a great army in one place. 
He also kept up the old hundred and shire courts, 
and refused* to allow the lords such judicial independence 
as they enjoyed on the Continent. Above all, he re- 
quired every landholder to take an oath of allegiance to 
support the King, before and above his immediate lord. 
With these changes, William made the feudal system a 
means by which he could control not only the conquered 
English, but his Norman barons as well. 

Against such control the haughty Normans protested. 
The result was that no sooner were the English con- 
quered than the Norman barons rebelled. 

Their n -pi 

revolts put This was the first of a series of revolts 

down. 

which lasted for a hundred years, in which 
the barons of England sought to win for themselves the 
powers possessed by the feudal nobles of other lands. 
In putting down such rebellions, William and his suc- 
cessors could count upon the support of the English 
people and of the great churchmen; for these saw that 
the rule of the King, harsh though it might be, was better 
than the tyranny of the feudal barons. Thus these 
feudal revolts failed, equally with those of the conquered 
English. 

Under William's stern rule, certain and terrible pun- 
ishment was the lot of all evil-doers. 

"The good order which William established was 

such," says the Chronicle, "that any man might travel 

all over the kingdom, with a bosom full of 

William's it 

stem gold, unmolested; and no man durst kill 

rule. \ , i . . 

another, no matter how great was the injury 
which he might have received from him." 



THE RULE OF THE NORMANS 



63 



Like all the Normans, William was very fond of 
hunting, and reserved the forests of England for his 
own enjoyment. 

" He made large forests for the deer, and enacted laws 
that whoever killed a hart or a hind should be blinded. 
He forbade also the killing of wild boars; and he loved 
the tall stags as if he were their father." 

He even drove whole villages from their homes, and 
destroyed houses and churches, in order to make a 
great New Forest for his hunting. 




HUNTING THE STAG 



One deed of William's, which seemed to his subjects 
an act of oppression, we now see was a wise and states- 
manlike act. This was making the " Domes- 
day Survey. ' ' He caused commissioners to Domesday 

^ " Survey. 

go throughout the land, and prepare a census 

of all the lands, with the names of their owners, and their 

value. 

" So very narrowly did he cause the survey to be made," 
says the writer of the Chronicle, " that there was not a 
single rood of land, nor — it is shameful to relate that 
which he thought it no shame to do — was there an ox, 
or a cow, or a pig passed by, and not set down in the 
accounts," 



64 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

When the inquiry was finished, the results were set 
down in a great book, which still exists, and is called 
"Domesday Book," — perhaps because its entries were 
like those of the Last Judgment, which spare no man. 
William's object in taking this survey was to find out 
what taxes he could levy, and what men he could raise 
for England's defence in time of war. But the chief 
value of Domesday Book now is that it gives us so much 
information concerning the condition of England in 
that far off time. 

Even after his conquest of England, William continued 
to be Duke of Normandy, and ruled that land as a 

^^f $bb %t hraxote Wis pas S < **<» it . fc flcamyff 

-tpmttrieren^ £ lc(c AdttCjou. but. n\o%oj»wnxhi^x. 

A PORTION OF DOMESDAY BOOK 
Written in Latin, with abbreviations 



vassal of the King of France. Quarrels between the 
French king and his too powerful vassal were frequent, 
and whenever a rebellion broke out against the Norman 
power the French King was sure to aid it. 

Towards the close of William's life, his eldest son 

Robert asked to have Normandy as a fief of his own; 

_ . . and when William refused this, Robert 

Death of 

W Q87? m1, joined the French King in making war. 

This war caused William's death, in 1087. 

William had captured and burned the city of Mantes, 

in France, and while lie was riding about in the ruined 



THE RULE OF THE NORMANS 65 

city his horse stumbled in the hot ashes. The King 
was thrown violently against the pommel of his saddle. 
He was very fat and was already ill, and this injury was 
such that he never recovered from it. 

Before his death, it is said that he bequeathed Nor- 
mandy to Robert, and England to his second son, 
William. 

"And what do you give me, father?" cried Henry, the 
youngest of his sons. 

" Five thousand pounds weight of silver out of my 
treasury." 

"But what can I do with silver, if I have no lands?" 
cried the boy. 

"Be patient, my son," said the dying King, " and have 
trust in the Lord; let thine elders go before thee, and thy 
time will come." 

And so it proved, for although William II. ruled Eng- 
land after his father's death, and Robert ruled Nor- 
mandy, in the end both England and Normandy came 
into the hands of their younger brother Henry. 

William II. (1087-1100) was called William "Rufus," 
or "the Red," because of his complexion. He had the 
bad qualities of his father, without his good , , 

1 . & Wicked 

traits. He was selfish, cruel, and wicked, and rule of 

William II. 

broke all his promises of good government. 
Even the good Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, was 
so persecuted that he fled from the kingdom, and he did 
not return until this reign was finished. 

The Red Kind's death was as violent as his life was 
wicked. He was slain while hunting alone in the New 
Forest, which his father had made; and his dead body 
was found by a charcoal burner, with an arrow piercing 
the heart. Who shot that fatal arrow, and why, no man 
can tell. 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



William Rufus left no children, so his younger brother 

Henry I. (1100-1135) now secured the English crown, 

and kept it in spite of the claims of his older 

Henry I. was born in Eng- 

(noo-1135). i an( |^ spoke English, and had an English 

Avife; moreover, he issued a "charter" in which he 



Henry 

of Justice" brother Robert - 




THE NORMAN CASTLE OF ROCHESTER 
Finished in Stephen's reign 



promised the people good government. The English, 
therefore, came to his help when Robert attempted to 
secure the crown. With an English army, Henry later 
invaded Normandy, where he defeated Robert and his 



THE RULE OF THE NORMANS 67 

knights in a great battle. Robert was captured, and 
spent the rest of his life as a prisoner in an English 
castle, while Normandy was again united with the 
English crown. With the exception of this war, Henry's 
reign was a peaceful one. He ruled for thirty-five years, 
with such strictness and order that he was called "the 
Lion of Justice." 

King Henry's only son was drowned while returning 
from Normandy. Henry then planned to leave his 
crown to his daughter, Matilda. Although England had 
never had a woman as ruler, he persuaded the barons 
to swear allegiance to Matilda as their future Queen, 
and he married her to Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, in 
France. 

After Henry's death, however, Matilda's cousin, 
Stephen of Blois, seized the crown. The London 
citizens and a majority of the barons sup- Civii war 
ported him, but the others supported Matilda. Matilda and 
The result was a civil war which continued Ste P hen - 
throughout Stephen's reign. The suffering caused by 
this war was increased by the cruelty of the barons, 
whom neither party could control. 

"The rich men," says the English Chronicle, "filled 
the land full of castles. They greatly oppressed the 
wretched people by making them work on these castles, 
and when the castles were finished they filled them with 
devils and evil men. Then they took those whom they 
suspected to have any goods, by night and by day, seizing 
both men and women, and they put them in prison for 
their gold and silver, and tortured them with pains 
unspeakable, for never were any martyrs tormented 
as these were. I can not, and I may not, tell of all the 
tortures that they inflicted upon the wretched men of this 



68 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

land; and this state of things lasted the nineteen years 
that Stephen was King, and ever grew worse and worse." 

This anarchy was ended by Henry II., the son of 
Matilda and Geoffrey. His father took Normandy for 
him, from Stephen. Then, upon his father's death, 
young Henry became Count of Anjou, as well as Duke 
of Normandy. By marriage with the heiress of the 
duchy of Aquitaine, he gained another vast territory in 
France. Then, as a youth of nineteen, he turned to 
England to conquer the remainder of his mother's 
inheritance. 

Henry of Anjou was more vigorous and skilful than 

Stephen, so he won from him fortress after fortress. 

When Stephen's son died, Stephen gave up 

ttfsucceed the struggle. In a treaty made at Walling- 

tep en. f orc ^ jj. was a g ree( j that Stephen should be 

King for the remainder of his life, but that upon his 
death the crown should go to Henry of Anjou. 

The civil war thus came to an end; and Stephen and 
Henry joined forces against the barons, and destroyed 
the castles which had sprung up all over the land. 
About a year later, in 1154, Stephen died, and the crown 
of England passed to Matilda's son, Henry II., the first 
of the "Angevin" or " Plantagenet " line of Kings. 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Was the Norman Conquest a good or a bad thing for England? 

Why? 

2. In what ways were William I. and Henry I. better Kings than 

Ethelred and Edward the Confessor? 

3. Find out what you can about the origin and development of 

the feudal system. 

4. Was William I. lawfully King of England? Was Henry I.? 

Was Stephen? Give your reasons. 

5. What "is the lesson taught by the anarchy during Stephen 's 

reign ? 




MAP OF POSSESSIONS OF HENRY II. 



IX 



HENRY II. 
THE FIRST PLANTAGENET KING 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

How the name ' ' Plantagenet ' ' arose; to whom it was first applied. 
The territories which Henry II. ruled; how each came to him; 

dates when he was King; his character. 
The changes which he made in the military system; in the law 

courts. 
What "trial by battle" was; what an "ordeal" was; the form 

of trial which Henry II. substituted for these. 
Who Eecket was; why he and the King quarreled; how it ended; 

Henry's penance. 
The rebellions in Henry II. 's reign; whence the rebels received 

aid; how Henry II. died. 



The Plantagenet Kings of England begin with Henry 
II., who became King in the year 1154, and end with 
Richard II. two hundred and forty- 
five years later. The father of 
Henry II. was the first to bear this 
name, and he received it because 
of his habit of wearing a sprig of 
the "broom" plant (planta genestd) 
in his cap. 

Henry II. was already a brilliant 
and powerful ruler when he became 

King of England. Later he gained lordship 
Knry n. over Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. At their 
(H54-1189). j? u u est ex t en t 9 n i s dominions included most of 

the British Isles, and about half of France. This 
made him the most powerful monarch in all Europe. 




'PLANTA GENESTA" 



70 



THE FIRST PLANTAGENET KING 71 



Henry's personal appearance was striking. He had 
broad shoulders, a thick neck, a large round head, and 
a ruddy complexion. He had great physical strength, 
and was accustomed to riding long and hard. In one 
day he could make a journey for which others took 
twice or thrice as long. He surprised both friends and 
enemies with his rapid movements. 

No one worked harder than did King Henry, and 
throughout his reign of thirty-five years his energy never 
failed. 

In addition, he had an orderly mind, which enabled 

him to make a plan, and 
follow it out His 
against all ob- charac * er - 
stacles. He was masterful, 
and forced men to follow 
his will. Like all of his 
family, Henry II. was sub- 
ject to terrible fits of anger, 
and dark stories were told 
of a witch ancestress from 
whom came the taint of 
blood which twisted into 
evil the strong passions and 
One who knew Henry II. 
said: 

"He is a lamb when in good humor; but he is a lion, 
or worse than a lion, when he is seriously angry. But 
no one is more gentle to the distressed, more affable to 
the poor, more overbearing to the proud." 

Henry II. began at once to restore order and to reform 
the government. He systematized the collection of 
taxes, and he replaced the bad money then in circulation 
with new silver coins. 




SEAL OF HENRY II. 



high courage of his race. 



72 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

He improved the military system in two ways. First, 

those English barons who did not wish to follow him in 

his wars in France were permitted to remain 

He changes , , , ... 

the miii- at home. Inn were required to pay a tax 
called "scutage," or shield money. With 



tary system. 



this money Henry hired foreign soldiers, who would go 
where he wished and remain with him as long as neces- 
sary. Thus the barons themselves placed in the king's 
hands a means of keeping them in order. In the second 
place, King Henry proclaimed a law which required 
every free man to provide himself with weapons and 
armor according to his means, and to he ready to serve 
in the army when needed. The highest class of common 
freemen were to have each a helmet, a coat of mail, a 
shield, and a lance. These improvements gave the King 
a stronger army, and made him independent of the 
barons. 

Henry's greatest work was in reforming the system of 

law courts. He wished to establish one law for all 

parts of England, and for all classes of people. 

Improves rp,, , , , , . 

law and 1 here were many courts, some held by the 
lords on their estates, or manors, and some 
held by the sheriffs in the shires; but there was no con- 
nection among them, and the same kind of offence 
might be punished more severely in one place than in 
another. To remedy this evil, the King appointed 
learned justices, whose duty it was to travel about the 
country and preside over each shire court, at least once 
a year. All people then had an opportunity to get 
justice from the King's own officers; and because the 
King's justice was good, it was preferred by the 
people. 

A greater reform was that which he made in the 
methods bv which trials were conducted. 



THE FIRST PLANTAGENET KING 73 

The older modes of trial depended largely upon 
superstition, accident, or force. Since the coming of 
the Normans, the most important form of 
trial was "trial by battle," or the duel. The forms of 
accuser threw down his gauntlet, which was 
taken up by the person accused; then the judge set a 
time and place for them to fight the combat. This was 
really an appeal to the judgment of God, for it was sup- 
posed that God would interfere to proteel the innocent 
and reveal the guilty. 

Other forms of trial were the "ordeals." In the 
"ordeal by fire" the accused person was required to 
carry a piece of red-hot iron in his bare hand for a 
distance of nine feet. His hand was then bandaged by 
the priest, and if at the end of three days the wound was 
"clean," he was declared innocent. In the "ordeal by 
hot water" the hand was plunged into a kettle of boiling 
water, and then bandaged. In the "ordeal by cold 
water" the person accused was thrown into running 
water, with hands and feet tied together. If he floated 
•he was miiltv; if he sank he was innocent, and must be 
hauled out. 

In none of these modes of trial was there any attempt 
to find out the facts of the case, by hearing testimony 
and weighing evidence. It was one of the _ , . .. 

& & Trial by 

great merits of Henry II. that he brought Jury in- 

& J ° troduced. 

into general use a reasonable form of trial — 

that which developed into our "trial by jury." This 

was first applied to cases concerning land; but later 

(after 1217), when the Church saw the folly and impiety 

of the ordeal, trial by jury was used in criminal cases as 

well. 

Another reform made by Henry II. grew into the 
"grand jury," by which today a body of citizens inquires 



74 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



into crimes and makes "indictments" or accusations 
ao-ainst the criminals, so that thev mav be brought to 
trial. In the olden days, when powerful protectors 




TRIAL BY BATTLE 



sometimes shielded guilty persons, and no individual 
dared come forward to accuse them, such an accusation, 
in the name of the community, was very necessary. 



THE FIRST PLANTAGENET KING 75 

By these judicial reforms, the administration of 
justice was made surer, speedier, and more certain. 
Jury trial also trained the people to take part in the 
administration of the law, and so fitted them for those 
larger privileges in the making of the law which were to 
come to them later on. 

In the early part of his reign, Henry's chief counselor 
was Thomas Becket, his Chancellor, or chief secretary. 
Becket had received the highest education of „ 

, , Henry s 

the time, by study in the newly founded schools friendship 

* » * m for Becket. 

of Oxford, by travel in Italy, and by service in 
the church. He was also known as a man of ability in 
public affairs. Henry showered riches and favors upon 
his new Chancellor; and Becket adopted a magnificent 
style of life, and rivaled the King himself in the 
splendor of his robes and the number of his servants. 
This did not displease Henry, so long as Thomas in 
return rendered him good service. 

All went well until the King wished to carry his reforms 
into the church also. He wished especially to place the 
members of the clergy under the control of the state 
courts, so that a churchman who committed a crime 
might be tried by the same law and suffer the same 
penalties as other persons. As it was, a churchman was 
tried in a Church court, and often escaped with very 
light punishment. Henry saw the evils of this system, 
and sought to secure a reform by appointing his friend 
Becket to the highest position in the English church. 
Thomas protested, saying: 

" I warn you that, if such a thing should be, our 
friendship would soon turn to bitter hate." 

But, in spite of this warning, Henry carried out his 
plan, and made Becket Archbishop of Canterbury. 

Becket seemed to change his nature at once. He 



76 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



resigned his office of Chancellor, saying that he must 
now give all his time to the Church. He continued to 
wear splendid robes, but under them he wore horsehair 
garments, and his 
great banquets to the 
nobles now became 
feasts for the poor. 

The King was de- 
termined to make his 
law s u - 

His quarrel 

with preme over 

Becket. r 

all persons 
in the kingdom, while 
the archbishop was 
equally determined to 
keep the independ- 
ence of the Church. 
Thus a quarrel arose. 
Becket soon fled to 
France, and there for 
seven years he kept 
appealing to the Pope 
and to the King of 
France for help 
against King Henry. 
At last a reconcilia- 
tion was agreed to, 
and Becket returned 
to England. But he 
soon showed that he 
had forgotten and for- 
given nothing. He punished with the power of the 
Church all those who had sided against him; even 
the Archbishop of York, the second great churchman of 







BECKET AS ARCHBISHOP OF 
CANTERBURY 



THE FIRST PLANTAGENET KING 77 

England, was "excommunicated" — that is, cut off from 
the fellowship of the Church — because he had, in 
Becket's absence, performed some acts which, as 
Becket claimed, only the Archbishop of Canterbury 
could perform. 

When news of these events reached Henry, in Nor- 
mandy, he was beside himself with rage. 

"What a pack of cowards have I kept about me," he 
cried, "that not one of them will avenge me against this 
upstart priest." 

Four knights who heard the King took him at his 
word. They slipped across to England, where they 
found Becket in his cathedral church at 

Becket 
Canterbury. »s mur- 

dered. 

"Where is the traitor? Where is the 
archbishop?" they cried. 

"Here am I," replied Thomas, "no traitor, but a 
priest of God." 

Angry words followed. The knights demanded that 
he withdraw his excommunication, and Becket refused, 
with bitter revilings. Thereupon, they struck him to the 
ground, and slew him as he lay. 

King Henry owed no thanks to his brutal knights for 
their foul murder. Their deed shocked the whole of 
Christendom, and did great injury to the King's cause. 
The people looked upon Becket as a martyr, and for 
centuries pilgrims streamed to Canterbury to visit 
Becket's tomb. 

For a time Henry was glad to leave his kingdom. He 
crossed over to Ireland, to receive the submission of its 
warlike chiefs, and to avoid the Pope's H enry's 
legates. When the first burst of indignation P enance - 
was over, Henry made his peace with the Church. 
He swore that he was innocent of any part in Becket's 



78 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

murder, and promised to recall his reforms concern- 
ing the Church. Later he paid a visit to Canterbury, 
to do penance for his sin. After walking barefoot, 
from the city walls to the cathedral, he knelt at the tomb 
of Saint Thomas, and prayed all night for forgiveness, 
while the monks of the place passed by and smote with 
rods his bared back. 

Henry's need to be reconciled with the Church was 

pressing. A great rebellion had broken out at this time 

Rebellion among his barons, both in England and in 

Barons France, because of the overthrow of their 

put down. f eu( j a i privileges. The Kings of France and 

Scotland, as well as Henry's eldest son, joined in the 

attack ; and even his Queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, 

tried to escape in man's clothing to join the rebels. 

In spite of this formidable array, the energy of the 
king, the loyalty of his officials, and the favor of the 
people enabled him to triumph. On the very day that 
Henry left Canterbury, after performing his penance at 
the tomb of Saint Thomas, the king of the Scots was 
surprised and captured in the north of England. The 
rebellion ended almost at once. During the remaining 
fifteen years of his reign Henry was master of his realm, 
and was able to carry through, without further hind- 
rance, his far-reaching reforms. 

These fifteen years were the time of Henry's greatest 

power, yet they brought him only bitterness of spirit, 

for his wife and sons were turned against him. 

of his For ten years his eldest son, Henry, seized 

every opportunity to attack his father. Then, 

when this prince died, his next son, Richard, acted in 

like manner. Warfare with his sons, and constant 

watching for conspiracies, changed the King's own 

character, and he became gloomy and harsh. 



THE FIRST PLANTAGENET KING 79 

At last, in 1189, Richard formed a widespread con- 
spiracy, and with the aid of the Kino- of France suddenly 
seized some of his father's French territories. Henry II. 
was now old and ill; he was surrounded by enemies, and 
was taken by surprise. He was forced to accept a 
humiliating treaty, and to agree that Richard's allies 
might transfer their allegiance from himself to Richard. 
A list was given to him of those who were in the secret 
league with Richard, and at its head he saw the name of 
his youngesl and favorite son, John. 

"He cursed the day on which he was horn," says a 
chronicler, "and pronounced upon his sons the curse of 
God and of himself, which he would never withdraw." 

Sick at heart he took to his bed, and a few days later 
died, muttering at the last these words: 

"Shame, shame, on a conquered Kino-." 

Though Henry II. died in despair, his life was not 
unsuccessful. He was indeed selfish, and harsh, and 
often he was violent in his deeds. Yet his 
reign was a great benefit to England, and he Henry n. 
deserves to rank among the greatest of her 
kings. He kept down the rebellious nobles, restored 
order in the government, and introduced reforms into 
the administration of justice; and the benefits of his rule 
have continued to the present day. 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Show on a map the possessions of Henry II. 

2. What are the advantages of jury trial over the older forms 

of trial ? 

3. What does a grand jury do? 

4. Find out what you can about the life and character of Becket. 

Where was he buried? How did the people show respect for 
his memory! 

5. Make a list of the things which show that Henry II. was a 

great King. 



X 



RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED AND 
THE CRUSADES 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Dates when Richard I. was King; his character. 

How a boy was trained to be a knight; how a squire was made a 

knight; what the "accolade" was; the ideals of a true knight. 
How the Crusades arose; dates of the First Crusade; dates of 

the Second; what called forth the Third Crusade; its dates. 
How Eichard raised money for the Third Crusade; with whom he 

went; where he stopped on the way; what city he captured; 

why the Crusaders failed to recover Jerusalem; Eichard 's 

return. 

The troubles in England during his absence; his "Saucy Castle"; 
circumstances of his death. 

The next reign— that of Richard I. (1189-1199)— was 
for England a quiet one. During most of the ten years 
of his reign Richard was absent from the land 
Richard i. and his officers governed in his name. But 
' the good order which his father had estab- 
lished was such, and the officers trained by him were so 
able, that King Richard could safely leave England to 
itself for years at a time. 

Richard cared little for his English dominion. Though 

he was born there, his youth was spent in Aquitaine. He 

spoke French and did not speak English. 

knightly His customs and ideas were those of southern 

character. 

France. In spite of his ambition to rule, he 
was a warrior and a knight rather than a wise King. 
As a knight he excelled. A chronicler tells us that he 
was " tall, well built, and with hair mid-way between red 
and yellow." He loved to hunt, to sing, to make verses, 

80 



RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED 



81 



and to conquer other knights in "tournaments," or 
friendly battles. His strength and skill in these com- 
bats were known and praised throughout France. But 

he loved also to 
engage in real war- 
fare, as he showed 
more than once. 

Richard's life 
and character were 
in keeping with the 
ideals of his time, 
and his training 
must have been 
similar to that fol- 
lowed by all noble 
youths who wished 
to become knights. 
At about seven 
years of age, a 
boy of 
high 
birth 

was usually sent 
away from home 
to be trained in 
the castle of some 
noble lord. There 
he spent some 
years in attend- 
the castle, and was 
When older, he 





Usual 

training for 
knighthood. 



RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED 
From the figure on his tomb 



ance upon the lord and lady of 

taught how to bear himself politely. 

attended his lord, learning to ride, to hunt, and to use 

the arms of nobility — the shield, the sword, and the 

lance. When skilled in these things, he became a 



82 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

"squire"; his duty thenceforth was to accompany his 
lord to the tournament or to battle, to help him put on 
his armor, to provide him with a fresh lance or a fresh 
horse in the combat, and in case of need to give him aid. 
After several years of such service, having proved his 
skill and his courage, the young squire was ready to 
become a " knight." 

Often the ceremony of conferring " knighthood " was 

not performed until the squire had "won his spurs" by 

some heroic deed. The highest ambition of 

conferring the young man was to be knighted on the 

mg t oo -g^j Q f battle, as a reward for bravery. When 
that was done the ceremony was simple. Some famous 
knight would strike the kneeling youth upon the shoulder 
and say, "I dub thee knight." 

The ordinary ceremony was much more elaborate. 
The first step in this was a bath, signifying purification. 
Then the squire put on garments of red, white, and black 
— red, for the blood he must shed in defence of the church; 
white, for purity of mind; black, in memory of death, 
which comes to all. Then came "the vigil of arms" in 
the church, where he watched and prayed all night, 
either standing or kneeling before the altar, on which 
lay his sword. At daybreak the priest came, the squire 
confessed his sins, heard mass, and partook of the holy 
sacrament. Then perhaps he listened, with the other 
candidates for knighthood, to a sermon on the proud 
duties of a knight. Later in the morning he appeared 
before his lord, or some other well-known knight, and 
his spurs were fastened on his feet and his sword was 
girt about him. Then he knelt before his lord, and the 
latter gave him the " accolade " ; that is, he struck the 
squire a blow upon the neck with his fist, or with the 
flat of his sword, and said: 



RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED 83 

"In the name of God, and Saint Michael, and Saint 
George, I dub thee knight. Be brave and loyal." 

After this, the new knight gave an exhibition of his 
skill in riding and in the use of weapons, and the day 
ended with feasting and merry-making. As a 
true knight, he was expected to be loyal to of the 
his lord and to the Church, to be just and 
pure in his life, and to be kind to all in need of his 
help, especially to defenceless women. The church 
sought to ennoble warfare by giving religious aims and 
ceremonies to knighthood. But often the practice 
of chivalry, or knighthood, fell far below these ideals, 
and was marked by a narrow caste spirit and a brutal 
indifference to human suffering. 

Richard I. did not have the gentler virtues of a knight, 
because of the fierce, wild temper of his family. But in 
courage he was so famed that men called him Richard 
"the Lion-Hearted" (Coeur de Lion). His love of war- 
fare, his fondness for adventure, and his devotion to the 
Church were all appealed to by a great movement which 
occurred in his reign, known as the Third Crusade. 

The Crusades were a series of wars between the 
Christian peoples of western Europe and the Moham- 
medan peoples of Asia Minor and Svria. The n . . 

* . *■ •> Origin 

name comes from the Latin word crux o fthe J 

Crusades. 

(cross), because of the "cross" of white or 
red cloth which the Christian soldiers in these wars wore 
on their mantles. The purpose of the Crusades was to 
recover Jerusalem and Palestine from the Mohammedans. 
A century before Richard's time these people, who then 
possessed the lands where Christ had lived and died, 
began oppressing the Christian pilgrims who came to 
visit Jerusalem. At the same time, the Greek Emperor 
of Constantinople appealed to the Christian knights of 



84 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



the West for aid against the Mohammedan Turks, who 
were conquering his territories. The Pope took up the 
cause, and at a great meeting held in France, in the year 
1095, he preached a sermon urging the knights to make 
war upon the Mohammedans, and recover the Holy 
Land. His plea moved his hearers so greatly that they cried 
out with one accord, — 

"It is the will of God !" 

In this way began the 

movement toward Asia 

~^ „ which we call 

The First 

c/usade the First Cru- 

(1096-1099). 

s a d e. The 
common people would 
not wait to gather sup- 
plies or to form an army, 
but marched at once — 
men, women, and child- 
ren — in vast throngs 
under the lead of a monk 
called "Peter the Her- 
mit," and other rash 
leaders. They knew 
nothing of the country 

to which they were going, and but little of the road by 
which it should be reached. They made no provision for 
fighting the Turks, or to sustain themselves on the 
way, but trusted to the power of God to overcome the 
"infidels." The result was that they were destroyed on 
the way, by Turkish horsemen, or by starvation, and 
failed even to reach Palestine. 

Religious enthusiasm, and a desire for conquest and 
worldly gain, led many thousand trained and equipped 
knights to set out in their turn. They were under cap- 




SHIELD OF RICHARD I. 

During the Crusades knights began the 
practice of painting emblems on their 
shields, banners, etc., to distinguish one 
from another. The "lions" which Rich- 
ard used became the "arms" of England 



RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED 85 

able leaders, and their armies were well supplied. They 
reached Asia, and they fought the Turks with such 
success that they captured Jerusalem and a portion of 
Palestine, where they set up a Christian kingdom in the 
year 1099. Thus the object of the First Crusade was 
partly accomplished, and the Holy Land was freed from 
the rule of Mohammedans. 

Forty-eight years later occurred the Second Crusade 
(1147-1149), which was caused by the news that the 
Turks had conquered part of the kingdom of 
Jerusalem. Two Kings — Conrad III. of fYjsade 
Germany and Louis VII. of France — took 
part in this Crusade, but very little was accomplished 
by it. 

Two years before Richard became King of England, 
the Turkish leader Saladin recaptured Jerusalem. 
This again stirred up the religious zeal of Europe, and 
many of the great nobles "took the cross" — that is, 
vowed to engage in a new war against the Turks. Among 
the first to do this was Richard the Lion-Hearted, and 
his part in the Third Crusade is the chief interest which 
we have in his reign. 

As soon as Richard was crowned he began prepara- 
tions for the Crusade. He took: the money which his 
father had left, and in addition sold estates Richard 

joins the 

and offices. He even sold the office of Arch- Third 

Crusade 

bishop of York, with the estates belonging to (H89-ii92). 
it; and for a large sum of money he released the King of 
Scotland from the "homage" which Henry II. had com- 
pelled him to give. 

By these means, Richard gathered a great fleet, with 
which he set out for the Holy Land, in company with 
Philip Augustus, the King of France. The two Kings 
stopped at Messina, where they spent many months, 



86 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



His 

deeds in 
Palestine. 



reached 



quarrelling with each other, and with the ruler of Sicily. 
When at last they re-embarked, Richard again turned 
aside— this time to punish the King of Cyprus for 
abusing shipwrecked pilgrims. 
Meanwhile, in Palestine, the 
Christians were besieging the 

city of Acre, and were 

sorely in need. When 

Richard at last 
Acre, his fame as a 
warrior revived the spirit of the 
Christians. He would ride along 
before the walls of the city, and 
defy the Mohammedans. He 
set up great machines to batter 
down the walls, and in a short 
time Acre surrendered. Thus 
was recovered one of the impor- 
tant cities which the Moham- 
medans had conquered, but 
Jerusalem itself was yet to be 
taken. Soon after this, King 
Philip returned to France, leav- 
ing Richard to carry on the war 
without his aid. But the quarrels 
among the leaders continued, 
and they could not agree on any- 
thing. It is said that Richard 
one day rode up a hill within 
sight of Jerusalem, but held his 
shield before his face that he 
might not look upon the sacred city which he could 
not rescue. The army was obliged to retreat, and the 
Holv City was left in the hands of the "infidels." 




ARMOR OF THE TIME 
OF RICHARD I. 
Made of scales of iron over- 
lapping one another 



RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED 87 

Richard was now obliged to return to England: so he 
made a truce with Saladin for three years, during which 
time Christians might freely visit Jerusalem. Richard 
intended to return after the three years had passed, but 
was never able to do so. WhenJie departed from Syria, 
he left behind him a great reputation for his bravery. 

While lie was returning to his kingdom, Richard was 
compelled by storms to land in the territory of the Duke 
of Austria. He was almost alone, and the He is ship- 
Duke was his personal enemy because of ^ c !^ d 
great injuries which Richard had done to P risoned - 
him on the Crusade. Richard attempted to pass un- 
known through his enemy's country; but he was dis- 
covered, arrested, and afterward surrendered by 
the Duke to the German Emperor. The Emperor was 
also unfriendly, because Richard was allied with the 
Emperor's enemies in Germany; so he kept the English 
King- a prisoner. 

For a time, the place of Richard's confinement was 
not known to his own people. In after years, men told 
a story of how his favorite "minstrel," Blondel, wan- 
dered through Germany, singing beneath the walls of 
every castle a song known only to the King and to Blondel 
himself. At last he was rewarded by hearing the answer- 
ing verse in Richard's clear voice, and he knew that he 
had found his master's prison. 

The Emperor drove a hard bargain with his prisoner. 
If he had listened to King Philip of France, and 
to Richard's brother John, he would never Richard 
have released the King at all. As it was, he from°™p^ 
compelled Richard to pay a. great ransom, tivit y- 
which the English people willingly raised. After four- 
teen months of captivity, Richard was released. He 
landed in England after more than four years' absence. 






Ififekij; " [ 



.-■r/*' 



V - 



*5r* 



- J 



- ^ 



!j^^?4 






s? g 






/A 

;-;'■" : - > ■- ■ 



E2AJp 








JY 
The picture shows hurling engines and a movable towe/being "brought up 
to attack the castle. To the left is the river Seine 



RICHARD I.'S "SAUCY CASTLE" (Chateau Gaillard) 



RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED 89 

While Richard was absent his brother John had 
attempted to usurp his crown, and had seized a number 
of castles. Richard's officers and the people were loyal 
and the castles had nearly all been recaptured before 
he arrived. Those that John still held were easily 
recovered, and the conspiracy ended. 

After two months in England, Richard crossed to 
France to make war on Kino; Philip, who was attacking 
his territories. The remainder of Richard's wi . 

His "Saucy 

life was spent in this petty warfare. The Castie"in 
struggle centered about a great castle which 
Richard built on the border of Normandy, and which he 
called "Saucy Castle" (Chateau Gaillard). 

"I would take that castle.'* cried Philip, "though its 
walls were of iron ! " 

-> I would hold il, though its walls were of butler." 
was Richard's defiant answer. 

Richard was now so much in need of money that, 
when he heard that one of his vassals in southern France 
had discovered a buried treasure of gold, he demanded 
it. in accordance 4 with his right as lord. The report 
was that the treasure was "a great table of gold, sur- 
rounded by golden knights," but really it was only a 
set of golden chessmen. The vassal refused to surrender 
the treasure, and Richard laid siege to his castle. 

As Richard was riding carelessly before the walls 
one day, he was struck by an arrow shot from the castle 
by a man who had long waited for that Richard is 
chance. Soon after that, the castle was taken, slain by 

an arrow. 

and the soldier who had shot Richard was 
brought captive before him. 

"What have I done to you," asked the dying King, 
"that you should slay me?" 

"You have slain my father and two of my brothers," 



90 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

was the answer. "Torture me as you will, I shall die 
gladly, since I have slain you." 

On hearing this answer, Richard pardoned the man, 
and with his last breath ordered that he should be set 
free. 

In spite of his great courage, and his skill and energy 
as a warrior, Richard I. accomplished very little. He 
is to be remembered chiefly as being the only English 
King who left his throne in order to go upon a Crusade. 
For nearly a hundred years after Richard's death, 
western knights and princes, and some Kings, continued 
to go to the East, seeking honor, riches, and salvation 
for their souls, in the Crusades. Then, gradually, they 
awoke to the greater needs and opportunities which lay 
close at hand, in their own countries, and the crusading 
movement came to an end. 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Imagine yourself a page and write a letter describing your 

training to be a knight. 

2. Find out what you can about the First Crusade. 

3. Read some account of Saladin, and tell about his relations 

with Eichard. (Scott's novel, "The Talisman" deals with 
this subject.) 

4. Show on the map the route which Richard took to the Holy 

Land. (He went by land through France, and sailed from 
Marseilles.) 

5. What effect did the Crusades have on the commerce of Europe? 

On its learning? What new things are introduced during 
the Crusades? 

6. Write a story of Blondel searching for Richard. 



XI 



KING JOHN AND THE GREAT 
CHARTER 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Why John was made King instead of Arthur; his character; how 

his tyranny was a good thing for England. 
On what charge John was condemned to lose his French terri- 
tories; what crime committed by John aided Philip; why the 

French could not take Aquitaine; how the loss of Normandy 

was a good thing. 
The quarrel between John and the Pope; how the Pope sought 

to punish John; the terms on which John made peace with the 

Church. 
Why the Barons rebelled against John; what caused the rebellion 

to succeed; where and when the Great Charter was signed; 

its chief provisions. 
Why the barons rebelled a second time; the aid which they 

have; the circumstances of John's death; why the Barons 

abandoned the French Prince. 

Richard's younger brother John, who had caused him 
so much trouble during his absence on the Crusade, 
succeeded him as King of England and ruler John 
of the English possessions in France. An- asking 
other brother, named Geoffrey, who was < 1199 - 1216 )- 
older than John, had died, leaving a son, Arthur, who 
was now ten years old. According to the rules which 
today govern the succession to crowns, Arthur had a 
better right to the throne than John had; but the nobles 
of England, acting on Richard's recommendation, chose 
John, who was a man of full age, in preference to Arthur, 
who was but a boy. 

91 



92 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

Long before John's reign was over, every class in the 
kingdom had cause to repent that choice. King John 
His bad proved to be one of the worst rulers that 
character. England ever had, — cruel, faithless, lazy, and 
reckless of everything save his own pleasure. Yet his very 
wickedness and tyranny, by spurring all classes to resist- 
ance, helped much to bring about political liberty, 
and to make such tyranny impossible for the future. 

First, you must know, within five years John lost the 
greater part of the English possessions in France, includ- 
ing Normandy, the home-land of William the Conqueror. 
Ever since the Norman dukes had ruled England, the 
kings of France had seized every opportunity of stirring 
up trouble in the English royal family, in order to weaken 
these powerful vassals of theirs. Philip Augustus now 
aided young Arthur in attacking the French possessions 
of his uncle John. Also, John had injured one of his 
own vassals in Aquitaine, by seizing and carrying off his 
promised bride, whom John married; and this vassal 
carried his grievance to King Philip, who was John's 
overlord for Aquitaine. Philip summoned John to 
appear before his court, and defend himself; and when 
John refused, judgment was given against him and he 
was condemned to lose his possessions in France. The 
judgment was strictly according to feudal law; and with 
the law now on his side, King Philip set about con- 
quering John's fiefs. 

In the course of this war, Arthur was captured and 

imprisoned by John, and soon mysteriously disappeared. 

Puts to There can be no doubt that he was put to 

nephewj s death, and ugly rumors whispered that John 

Arthur. j iaf j c \ one the wicked deed with his own 

hands. On every side John's vassals and followers 

deserted him, and Philip made rapid gains. 



THE GREAT CHARTER 



93 



" Let him go on," boasted John, while doing nothing 
to prevent this. " Whatever he takes, I shall retake it 
in a single day." 

This was easier said than done. At last the "Saucy 
Castle," built by Richard with so much pains and ex- 
pense, was taken, and all Normandy passed into the 
hands of the French. Most of Aquitaine, 
which lay south of the river Loire, remained i^nioses 

Mormandy. 

true to English rule — not because of any love 
for John, but because the nobles dreaded to lose 
their independent position if their lands were annexed 
to the French crown, and because of loyalty to John's 
mother, Eleanor, their old mistress. 

The loss of Normandy 
seemed to the English 
people of that 

d. Good 
ay a great effects of 

]• i . this loss. 

disaster; but 
we can see now that it 
was a good thimj for 
England, as well as for 
France The descendants of the conquering Normans 
and of the conquered English had for many years been 
growing more and more alike, and more and more 
ready to act together in all that concerned the king- 
dom. The people in the reign of Henry II. and of 
Richard had been allowed to carry on their local 
governments according to ancient usage. London, 
and many other towns also, had received charters from 
the king which permitted them to manage their own 
affairs, and as a result the townsmen had become self- 
reliant, and interested in public matters. Now that the 
Norman barons were obliged to give up their lands in 
France, they looked upon themselves as Englishmen. 




MONEY OF KING .JOHN'S REIGN 



94 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

Thus, when the loss of his Norman possessions compelled 
the King to give his attention solely to England, he found 
the nobles and the common people ready to act together 
for the interests of the whole country. 

Soon after John's return to England, the Archbishop 
of Canterbury died, and for nearly eight years afterward 
John engaged in a great quarrel with the Pope over the 
filling of the vacancy. 

The monks of Canterbury had the right to choose the 

archbishop, but it had been the custom for the King to 

John's name the man whom the monks should elect. 

wYthTne On this occasion the monks, without con- 

churcn. suiting John, elected one of their own number 

and sent him to Rome to be confirmed by the Pope. 

When John learned what had been done, he compelled 

the monks to elect another man, a favorite of his own, 

who also went to Rome and appealed to the Pope. 

After considering the matter for a year, the Pope declared 

that neither candidate had been properly elected; and he 

then consecrated as archbishop a clergyman at Rome 

named Stephen Langton, who was learned, able, and of 

English birth. 

No better choice could have been made, but King 
John was furious at the Pope's action. He refused to 
The Pope allow Langton to enter England, and he 
munkTates se i ze( J the lands and revenues of the arch- 
him - bishopric. To punish the King, the Pope 

placed an "interdict" upon the whole kingdom, — that 
is, he forbade all church services except the baptism of 
infants and the "last unction" or anointing of the dying. 
The church doors remained closed; the bells were silent; 
even the dead were buried without ceremony, in unhal- 
lowed ground. 

John took no heed, save lo drive from the land the 



THE GREAT CHARTER 95 

bishops who proclaimed the interdict and to seize their 
lands. Then the Pope " excommunicated " the King — 
that is, declared him to be cut off from all connection 
with the Church, and all hope of heaven. Still John 
refused to submit. At last the Pope declared John 
deposed from his throne, released his English subjects 
from all duty to him, and gave Philip of France authority 
to take possession of the English kingdom. 

Philip prepared to invade England, and John also 
collected troops. But John distrusted his barons, and 
when the war was about to begin he suddenly John be _ 
yielded to the Pope's demands. Stephen ~™«J the 
Langton was permitted to take up his duties vassal - 
as archbishop, and John promised to restore the lands 
and moneys which he had taken from the Church. In 
addition, he surrendered his kingdom to the Pope and 
received it again as a fief, agreeing to pay a yearly tribute. 
Thus, the second great struggle was ended by the King 
of England becoming the Pope's vassal. The interdict 
and the excommunication were removed, and Philip 
was forbidden to proceed with his expedition. 

When the quarrel with the Pope was settled, John was 
in the midst of a third great struggle, — this time with 
his own barons, who wished a remedy for the evils of 
his rule. 

The King was constantly making new demands upon 
both the nobles and the people. He had called upon 
them for services which they did not think 
they ought to render, and he had levied taxes w fth U his re 
unknown in earlier times. In some cases he 
cast men into prison without law, and in others he un- 
justly seized their lands and goods. In many ways, 
King John outraged the rights of his people, so that all 
classes were ready to rebel. 



96 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

The barons found a shrewd adviser in Stephen Lang- 
ton, the new archbishop. He reminded them of the 
charter in which Henry I. had promised reforms of 
government to the nation, and told the barons to demand 
a similar charter from King John. 



JOHN GRANTING THE CHARTER 

While John was waging war on the Continent, seeking 

vainly to recover his lost dominions, the leading barons 

secretly met together, under pretext of a 

TheBarons ., , , ,1 T ~. , 

demand a pilgrimage, and swore to compel the -King to 
restore the liberties of the realm, and to con- 
firm them by a charter. Their demands were presented 



THE GREAT CHARTER 



97 



to John, upon his return; but the King cried out in 
wrath: 

" Why do they not ask for my kingdom ? I will never 
grant such liberties as will make me a slave." 

In various ways, John sought to break up the forces 
that confronted him; but all in vain. "The army of God 
and of Holy Church," as the rebels called themselves, 
marched upon London, and the citizens joyously opened 
the city gates to them. 




PORTION OF THE GREAT CHARTER 



Written in Latin, with abbreviations. The first line, if written out, would 

be: "Johannes, Dei Gratia Rex Angliae, Dominus Hyberniae," 

etc.; which, translated, is: "John, by the grace of 

God King of England, Lord of Ireland," etc. 



On June 15, in the year 1215, John met the repre- 
sentatives of the barons " in the meadow which is called 
Runnymede, between Windsor and Staines," TheGreat 
on the river Thames. Here he was forced to g^iSed 
sign the Great Charter, — called Magna Charta < 1215) - 
in Latin, the language in which it was written. It set 
forth the rights of all the people, including church- 
men, nobles, and townsmen. Since that day, the Charter 
has been repeatedly confirmed, and now stands as part 
of the foundation of English law. Its principles are part 



98 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

of the constitution of every English-speaking nation. 
Among many important provisions these two are chief: 

"No free man shall be taken, or imprisoned, or dis- 
possessed, or outlawed, or banished, or in any way 
destroyed, nor will we go upon him, nor will we send 
upon him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers, 
and by the law of the land." 

"To no one will we sell — to no one will we deny — 
right or justice." 

In these provisions the King admitted that he had no 
right to imprison or punish any man except according 
to law; he agreed that he would no longer take a man's 
liberty or goods merely by his own will. 

It is said that when King John signed the Charter he 
wore a smiling countenance, and spoke pleasantly to 
the lords about him; but that when he reached his own 
chamber he threw himself down in a mad rage upon the 
ground, gnashing his teeth and biting the rushes with 
which it was strewn. 

John had no intention of keeping his promises, and 

war soon began again. The King had the support of 

hired troops, chiefly from France; and the 

John re- r J ■ 

news the Pope, who was now his overlord, gave him 

quarrel. r . 

such help as he could. The barons, for their 
part, called upon Louis, son of King Philip of France, to 
come to their aid, and offered him the English crown. 
Louis came with a large army, and for a time the barons 
were successful. 

Then John's fortunes began to brighten, and it seemed 
as if he might overcome his enemies after all, and again 
set up his will as law. But, in crossing an arm of the sea, 
his army was surprised by the tide, and his baggage, 
with the royal treasure, was washed away. 

A fever then seized John, and he died in a few days. 



THE GREAT CHARTER 99 

Men said that his illness would not have been fatal had 

he not made it worse by eating heartily of unripe peaches. 

His death occurred in the fall of the year 1216. 

John's son, Henry III., a nine year old boy, J^* 11 of 

succeeded him on the throne, and Prince 

Louis soon withdrew his forces to France. The barons 

had fought only against the tyranny of King John, and 

they would not support the French Prince against their 

own young Kino-. 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Review the history of the connection of Normandy with 

England. 

2. Find out what other kingdoms besides England were held as 

fiefs from the Pope. What does this show concerning the 
power of the Pope. 

3. Read further on events leading up to the granting of the 

Great Charter. 

4. Write a brief account of the importance of the Great Charter. 



XII 



THE BARONS' WARS AGAINST 
HENRY III. 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Dates of the reign of Henry III.; his character as King; what 
gave the Barons the opportunity to interfere with his mis- 
government. 

"Who was Simon <le Montfort; the date when the Barons took 
charge of the government; how long this lasted. 

Beginning of the Barons' Wars; the first important battle; 
advantages gained by the Barons; how the war was renewed; 
the Battle of Evesham; the fate of Simon de Montfort. 

How the people regarded Simon; the most important thing which 
be did. 

Henry III. reigned for fifty-six years, from 1216 to 

1272. He was not lawless and cruel, like his father; on 

the contrary, he was religious, and a good 

Character i i • i -xr i i 

of Henry in. husband and father, let he was not a good 

(1216-1272). . ° 

King, and the discontent of his subjects at 
last broke out again in civil war. 

Until Henry came of age, the country was Avell gov- 
erned, under the guidance of men of noble birth and high 
character, who had been trained by Henry II. But 
when Henry III. took the government into his own 
hands, confusion followed, especially in money matters. 

The young King loved to make a great display of 

riches, to provide great feasts and entertainments, and 

to give magnificent gifts to French favorites. 

His mis- to to to 

govern- This not only wasted his revenues, but 

ment. " 

aroused the ill-will of his English subjects, 
who were very jealous of foreigners. Henry III. also 
permitted the Pope's agents to raise large sums of 

100 



BARONS' WARS AGAINST HENRY III. 101 



money in England to send to Rome, in spite of the loud 
complaints of the people and the English clergy. A war 
which Henry waged with France, for the recovery of the 
territories lost by his father, only succeeded in increasing 
his debts. Finally, Henry allowed himself to be drawn 
into a great struggle between the Emperor and the Pope, 
which so increased his debts that he was forced to appeal 
to Parliament for new taxes. This gave the barons their 
opportunity to interfere with his misgovernment. 

The leader of the barons at this time was Simon de 
Montfort, a stern and warlike knight, of French birth, 

who had become 
Earl of «:,„,„„ At > 

Simon de 

Leicester Montfort 

j^ticesLci, opposes 

in Eng- the kin ^- 
land. Though Simon 
had married the 
King's sister, he was 
not always in favor 
with Henry; on the 
other hand, the Eno-- 
lish barons at first 
regarded him with distrust, because he was of foreign 
birth. When Henrv sent him to govern Gasconv, or 
Aquitaine, his rule was severe and violent, and many 
complaints reached the King from the rebellious lords 
whom Simon had compelled to obey. Henry was always 
ready to blame Simon, who therefore gave up his task 
at last, and returned to England, where he soon became 
the leader of those who wished to end the King's mis- 
government. 

With Simon de Montfort at their head, the barons 
compelled the King to promise reforms. In 1258 they 
provided a council of fifteen barons to take entire charge 




KING AND SOLDIERS MET BY A 

MESSENGER 

From an old manuscript 



102 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



I 



of the government, — not to remove the King, but to see 
that he ruled rightly. For some time the King observed 
this agreement; but, after five years, he declared that 
lie would no longer be bound by it. 

Then, at last, the barons understood that nothing 
but force would compel Henry to rule justly. 

"Though all men quit me," said Simon de Montfort, 

" I, with my four sons, will remain and fight for the good 

T . D cause which I have sworn to defend, for the 

The Bar- 
ons' wars honor of Holv Church, and the welfare of the 

begin. J 

< 12 <»4) kingdom." 

On the other side, the King's chief aid was his twenty- 
five year old son, Edward. He was friendly 
to Simon, and wished to see reforms in the 
government, but he could not stand with the 
barons against his father. 

An important battle was fought at Lewes, 
in the southern part of England. Partly 
because of Simon's wise plans and partly 
because of Prince Edward's rashness, the 
battle was won by the barons, and the king 
and prince were forced to surrender. 

With Henry in his hands, Simon de Mont- 
fort for a time exercised the power of the 
King. He ruled wisely and secured the favor 
of the people. But the fortunes of his party soon 
changed, through the escape of the Prince from 
captivity. 

One day, while riding with his captors. Prince Edward 
suggested that they race their horses, to see which was 
the fastest. This was done, until the horses 
were all tired out. Then the Prince suddenly 
mounted a fresh horse, which he had close at 
hand, and easily escaped from their pursuit. 



i 



BANNER 

OF 

SIMON DE 

MONTFORT 



Escape of 

Prince 

Edward. 



BARONS' WARS AGAINST HENRY III. 103 

By this time, many of the nobles were dissatisfied with 
Earl Simon's harshness; and Edward soon gathered a 
large army about him, to reseue and restore the King. 
The battle was fought in 1265, at Evesham, in the west 
of England. Prinee Edward showed much skill in 




FIGHT BETWEEN KNIGHTS, IN THE TIME OF HENRY III. 
Note the close helmets on two of the knights 



forcing Simon to fight in an unfavorable position. 
When the earl saw Edward's army approaching, in 
great numbers and excellent order, he said: 

"They come on skilfully, yet it is from me that they 
have learned this order of battle. God have mercy on 
our souls, for our bodies are Prince Edward's!" 

Simon and his barons fought bravely, but they were 
overpowered. The Earl himself held out, dealing 
terrible blows, until he was slain by an attack „, 

J , Simon de- 

from behind. The people lamented his fall, feated and 
, i • i i i slain ( 1265h 

and a song is preserved, which they made 

soon after his death: 



104 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

"In song my grief shall find relief, 
Sad is my verse and rude ; 
I sing in tears our gentle peers 
Who fell for England's good. 

"Our peace they sought, for us they fought, 
For us they dared to die ; 
And where they sleep a mangled heap 
Their wounds for vengeance cry. 

"On Evesham's plain is Montfort slain, 
Well skilled our war to guide; 
Where streams his gore, shall all deplore 
Fair England's flower and pride."' 



Above all his other deeds, the great Earl is remembered 

for a change which he made in the Great Council, or 

Parliament. In calling a meeting in 156,5, after 

Importance ° 

of Simon's the battle of Lewes, he summoned not only 
the barons and rulers in the church (who had 
always attended), but also two knights from each shire, 
together with two men from each of those cities and 
"boroughs" (or towns) which could be depended upon 
to support his reforms. Thus was taken an important 
step, for we shall see that in the next reign the practice 
of including the representatives of the towns becomes 
firmly fixed in the parliamentary system. 

Men have always honored the memory of Simon de 
Montfort; for, though he was stern and haughty, he was 
just and true, and was an enemy to all misgovernment. 
Perhaps, as some say, he was becoming too ambitious; 
but, even so, his defeat would have been a calamity for 
England, had there not been a wise Prince, of the royal 
house, ready to take up the government, and to con- 
tinue the reforms which Earl Simon had begun. 



BARONS' WARS AGAINST HENRY III. 105 



TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Compare the characters of Henry I., Henry II., and Henry III. 

What was the relationship in blood of each of these to the 
others? 

2. Find out what you can about the men who carried on the gov- 

ernment before Henry III. came of age. 

3. The ways in which Henry III. misgoverned. 

4. In the Great Charter the King was obliged to make promises 

of good government, and agree to rule according to the law. 
How did the Barons of Henry II. go beyond this in weaken- 
ing the King's power? 

5. Write a brief sketch, in your own words, of the life and char- 

acter of Simon de Montfort. 



XIII 
THE FIRST TWO EDWARDS 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

The part played by Prince Edward in the latter part of his 
father's reign; his crusade; the danger to which he was 
exposed in Syria; in France. 

Character of Edward L; his chief title to fame as a King; the 
laws which he made; meaning of "Mortmain." 

Conquests attempted by Edward I.; Llewelyn; date of Edward's 
Conquest of Wales; the title of "Prince of Wales" since 
then. 

Ancient claims of the English Kings over Scotland; Bajliol; 
what led to war; William Wallace; his victory; his defeat at 
Falkirk; cause of the English success at Stirling; what 
became of Wallace. 

Leader of the Scots after Wallace's death; how Bruce was led to 
persevere; his success after the death of Edward I.; Battle 
of Bannockburn. 

The faults of Edward II.; his favorite; how Edward was over- 
thrown; who then became King. 

It was to Prince Edward that the people looked for 

good government after the death of Simon de Montfort. 

He was a youno; man, sober in -judgment, 

Closing °. . Jo ' 

years of and known to be in favor of iust and orderly 

Henry IIL J . J 

rule. Thenceforth, Henry III. was guided 
by his son Edward, and other good counselors; and, 
for the remaining seven years of his life, the country 
was quiet and prosperous. 

Meanwhile, Prince Edward found stirring work to 
do in the last of the Crusades. He had always loved 

warlike exercises, and by his success in tour- 

Prince pi 

Edward on naments had become one of the most famous 

a crusade. , . 

knights in Europe. He was religious by 
nature, and so, when he found a time in which he was 
not needed at home, he was glad to take a share in 
the Crusades. 

In spite of several Crusades which had been under- 



THE FIRST TWO EDWARDS 



107 






taken since the time of Richard I., the Turks still held 
Palestine and the Holy City of Jerusalem. In 1270 
Prince Edward set out with a small company of fol- 
lowers, and remained about a year in Syria, fighting with 
great skill and courage. But he could do little toward 
driving out the Turks. At one time he nearly lost his 
life, as the result of a Mohammedan plot. While he was 
resting in his tent, without his armor, one day, a messen- 
ger entered on the pretext of bringing a letter from the 

"Old Man of the Moun- 
tain." the ruler of a Mo- 
hammedan sect, whose 
capital was on Mount 
Lebanon. These people 
were called "Assassins," 
a name meaning " drunk 
with haschisch" (a drink 
made from hemp) ; and 
they were ready for any 
desperate errand of mur- 
der upon which their 
master sent them. As 
the Prince was read- 
assassin" drew a poisoned dagger, 
and struck him, but fortunately only wounded him in 
the arm. The "assassin" was at once slain. As a 
result of prompt measures, Edward's wound soon healed, 
and not long afterward he departed for England. 

When Sicily was reached, news came that Henry III. 
was dead, and that Edward I. had been proclaimed King. 
Edward did not hurry home to be crowned, He be _ 
but instead remained in his territory of as™dwardf. 
Gascony for a time, to settle affairs there. < 1272 - 1307 )- 
At Chalons, his life was again placed in danger, in a 




SEAL OF EDWARD I. 



ing the letter, the 



108 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

tournament, which was entered upon as a friendly 
trial of skill, but which was turned into deadly bat- 
tle. Many knights were slain, and Edward himself 
was in great danger, before he and his Englishmen won 
the day. 

Edward's life was always full of activity. He was 

strong and brave, very tall and straight, with broad, deep 

chest, dark eves, and brown flowing hair. 

Character ; ? ^ 

of Because or his long legs and arms he was 

called " Longshanks." He was a. good 
swordsman, a good rider, and a good speaker. He bore 
an English name, and Avas the first King since the Nor- 
man Conquest who used English as his ordinary speech. 
As Prince he had been loved by the people, and as King 
he proved himself a wise guardian of the people's welfare. 
He reigned from 1272 to 1307, and he was guided always 
by the motto which at last was placed on his tomb — 
" Keep Faith." Though he sometimes had disputes with 
his people, yet he always "kept faith" with them. 

Edward's greatest title to fame rests on the improve- 
ments which he made in the English laws. 

In Europe, as a whole, the wanderings of the nations 
were now over. The Crusades had come to an end, and 
strong governments were beginning to arise. Every- 
where there was need that old laws should be revised 
and new ones made to suit the new time. 

This was the work which Edward I. did in England. 

He revised and put in order the old laws, and he made 

many new laws, so that he was regarded as 

His work «i . ,, „ T , & . 

as a law- a great law-giver. We may truly say that 

giver. ^ & J J J 

the roots of the English law, as we have it 
today, go back to the time of Edward I. 

First, Edward punished his own officers and judges 
for abusing their powers. 



THE FIRST TWO EDWARDS 



109 



Then he made laws to check the power of the great 
feudal lords. 

Still another law, called the "Statute of Mortmain," 
forbade that any more land should be given or sold to 
the Church, especially the monasteries, without the 
King's consent. Monasteries were " corporations, " 
which " never died," no matter how often the individual 

members of the body 
might change; so land 
held by them was called 
land in " mortmain," — 
that is, in a "dead 
hand" which never re- 
laxed. A great part of 
the land of England — 
perhaps one-third — was 
already in the hands of 
the Church; and since, 
the King's rights of tax- 
ation, and the like, were 
less over the Church 
lands than over other 
lands, it was important 
that the amount of land 
so held should not be 
increased. 

Another great statute 
required that every free man should have arms and 
armor according to his means, and should appear for 
review twice a year. Those who were too poor to have 
armor and swords were required to have bows and 
arrows, and soon the English people became famed for 
their skill as archers. Other provisions of this law 
required that "watch and ward" should be kept in 




A CROSS ERECTED BY EDWARD I. 

TO THE MEMORY OF HIS 

QUEEN 



110 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

the towns at night, to guard against crimes; and that 
when an offence was committed, all the people should 
join in "hue and cry" after the offender, until he was 
caught . 

A great part of Edward's reign was taken up with 
the wars which he waged with the Welsh and the Scots, 
in the endeavor to bring all parts of Great Britain under 
the rule of the English King. 

The trouble first arose with the Welsh, who inhabited 

the mountainous region in the western part of Great 

He Britain. They were descendants of those 

«? n i quers Britons who were driven westward by the 

Wales 

(1283). invading Anglo-Saxons, until the Severn river 
formed their eastern boundary. In the time of the 
Normans, powerful Norman lords established them- 
selves along the borders of the Welsh territory, as 
"Lords of the Marches." The Welsh were a high- 
spirited and courageous people, and they made constant, 
though usually unsuccessful, attacks upon these " lords 
marcher." 

When Edward became King, Prince Llewelyn of 
Wales refused to do homage. Edward invaded Wales, 
and besieged the Welsh so closely, in the mountainous 
country, that they were forced by cold and hunger to 
surrender. In a second war, a few years later, Prince 
Llewelyn was killed. This ended the independence of 
Wales. 

The country has ever since remained under the 
rule of England, and the title "Prince of Wales" has 
usually been borne by the eldest son of the English 
Sovereign. Edward gave Wales a system of govern- 
ment like that of the English shires, and ruled it wisely 
and justly. 



THE FIRST TWO EDWARDS 111 

Edward I. also fought a long war with Scotland. He 
wished to unite the English and the Scots under one rule, 
but he managed the matter so badly that, 

° " His wars 

when he died, the Scots hated the English, with 

° Scotland. 

and the union was farther off than ever. 

The story of Scotland, is a long one, and we can tell 
only a small part of it here. In the old days, one of its 
rulers had become the vassal of an Anglo-Saxon King, 
and two centuries later another had yielded to Henry II. 
Thus the Kings of England claimed the overlordship of 
Scotland. In Edward I.'s time a dispute arose for the 
crown, and the Scottish lords appealed to King Edward 
to decide who had the best right. Edward decided in 
favor of John Balliol, who had the best claim, and he 
was thereupon crowned King of Scotland. 

When Edward began to exercise certain rights as 
overlord of Scotland, Balliol resisted. Thus began the 
Scottish war. which, except for some short interruptions, 
lasted during the rest of Edward's life. Balliol was driven 
from his throne, and an English guardian was placed 
over the country. A fiery leader of the Scots then 
appeared, named William W r allace, who won a great 
victory over the English at Stirling. 

But soon King Edward won a greater victory over 
Wallace, at Falkirk. The Scots, armed with _ a 

Defeat and 

long spears or pikes, were drawn up in four d«ath of 
great circles, and waited to be attacked. 

"I have brought you to the ring," cried Wallace to 
the English, "now dance if you can." 

The Scottish spearmen were able to turn back the 
charges of the English horsemen. But when Edward 
brought up his archers, their deadly arrows broke 
up the Scottish circles, and gave the victory to the 
English, 



112 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

A few years later, Wallace was taken prisoner, and 
was cruelly put to death. Soon the Scots rebelled again, 
Bruce under Robert Bruce, whom they crowned 

] S and S from King. Bruce suffered many defeats, and at 
conquest. one fj me was almost ready to give up the 
fight. A story is told how, one day as he lay hid, he 
watched a spider repair her web over and over again, 
until at last it held fast; and thus he, too, took cour- 
age and persevered. 

After Edward's death (in 1207) Bruce conquered 
nearly all Scotland, until only the castle of Stirling held 
out against him. To save Stirling, Edward II., the 
unworthy son of Edward I., led a great army into Scot- 
land, and fought a battle at Bannockburn. The English 
were poorly led, while Bruce showed himself a good 
general. The Scottish poet, Robert Burns, makes Bruce 
address his soldiers in these words: 

"Scots wha ha'e wi' 1 Wallace bled, 
Scots, wham 3 Bruce has aften 3 led! 
Welcome to your gory bed, 
Or to glorious victorie! 

"Wha will be a traitor knave? 
Wha can fill a coward's grave ? 
Wha sae 4 base as be a slave ? 

Traitor! coward! turn and flee! 

"Wha for Scotland's King and law 
Freedom's sword will strongly draw, 
Free-man stand or free-man fa' 5 , 
Caledonian! on wi' me!" 

The result of the battle was a great victory for the 
Scots. The plans of Edward I. to conquer Scotland 

1 ii-ha ha'e ivV = who have with. 3 aften — often. 

2 wham — whom. 4 sae — so. 

5 fa" = fall. 



THE FIRST TWO EDWARDS 113 

thus came to nothing, and the Scots kept their inde- 
pendence. 

The reign of Edward II. lasted twenty years (1307 
to 1327), and in every way was a failure. His great 
father had trained him carefully to war and 

J Reign of 

to business; but Edward II. proved utterly Edward n. 

1 , J (1307-1327). 

worthless, and thought only of his pleasures. 
His chief companion was a reckless favorite, named 
Piers Gaveston, who was as light-headed as the King 
himself. Gaveston called the greatest noblemen of the 
kingdom by such names as " the Actor," " the Hog," " the 
Black Dog." Three times he was sent out of England 
into exile, but each time he came back. The third time 
that Gaveston returned, the barons besieged the castle 
in which he took refuge; and, when it was captured, the 
baron whom he called "the Black Dog" had him put 
to death. 

Again we find the barons making war upon the King, 
as in the time of Henry III., but their aims were now 
more selfish than they were when Simon de Montfort 
was at their head. It was partly because of this that 
Edward II. was able to rule as long as he did, in spite of 
his misgovernment and failures. 

But at last a great conspiracy was formed against him, 
in which his Queen, Isabella, herself joined. The King's 
fourteen year old son (later Edward III.) was 
with the Queen. Bishops and nobles aided deposed."* 
them, and the Londoners murdered the 
King's ministers. When the King's new favorites were 
captured, they were put to death. Edward II. stood 
practically alone, and after trying unsuccessfully to 
escape to Ireland he fell into the hands of his enemies. 

Then, in a Parliament held in 1327, the question was 
put — 



114 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

"Whether they would have father or son for King?" 
The answer was overwhelmingly against Edward II. 
He was declared incapable of ruling, and was deposed. 
To show that Edward's reign was really over, the High 
Steward stepped forward and broke across his knee the 
white staff which was the sign of the Steward's office. 

But, so long as Edward II. lived, his enemies feared 

lest he might recover his power, and undo the work 

which they had done. So, a few months 

death later, the unhappy man was murdered bv 

(1327) . " 

those who had him in charge. 
This was the first time since the Norman Conquest, 
that the Great Council, which we now call Parliament, 
had exercised the right to depose a King. Before we go 
further, we must see what this body was, and how its 
powers had grown; for the growth of Parliament is the 
most important fact in all the history of this period. 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Tell in your own words what Edward I. did for the laws of 

England. Compare his work with that of Henry II. 

2. Did England gain more by the reforms of good Kings like 

Henry II. and Edward 1., or from resistance to bad Kings 
like John, Henry III., and Edward II. ? 

3. Tell the story of the Conquest of Wales from the point of view 

of a Welsh boy or girl. 

4. Find out what you can of Wallace. 

5. Look up the story of Bruce and the spider, and tell it in your 

own words. 
C>. Would it have been a good or a bad thing for Scotland to 

have been brought under the rule of England? Why? 
7. Find other instances since the Norman Conquest in which 
Parliament (or the Great Council) decided who should have 
the Crown. 



XIV 
THE RISE OF PARLIAMENT 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

The name of the Central Assembly in Anglo-Saxon days; under 
the Normans; how these Assemblies differed from Parliament. 

When and in what part of the government "representatives" 
first arose; how Henry IT. increased their use; why they were 
added to the Great Council. 

The two sorts of representatives in Parliament; when each was 
first introduced; the Model Parliament. 

Separation of Parliament into two Houses; of what each was 
composed; change in the House of Lords at the time of the 
Reformation; the Commons given equal powers in lawmaking 
with the Lords; powers of Parliament not so great as they 
later became. 

There never has been a period, since England lias been 
united into a single kingdom, when some sort of council 
or assembly was not called, from time to time, to aid the 
King in governing. 

In the days of the Anglo-Saxons, this body was called 
the " Witenagemot " (wit'en-a-ge-mot) , or assembly of 
the wise men, and was made up of the bishops, The as- 
abbots, king's theo-ns, and chief officers of Angio- 

i x • i x i-ii i-i -11 Saxon 

the kingdom. It was this body winch aided times. 
Alfred in making his laws, and which elected Harold — 
and after him William — to be King of England. 

After the Norman Conquest, the Kings from time to 
time called about them, to aid them with counsel and 
advice, all the lords who held land directly of ,_ „ 

' " The Nor- 

thern bv feudal tenure. Except for the fact man Great 

1 m Council. 

that the feudal lords were at first mainly 
Normans, this body did not differ very much from the 
one which preceded it; for the great officers of the land 

115 



116 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

were the King's vassals, and the bishops and abbots also 
held their lands by feudal tenure from the King. It was 
this Great Council of the barons which settled who 
should have the crown when there was a dispute; it was 
also this body which helped Henry II. carry through his 
great reforms. But the Great Council only aided and 
advised the King; it did not control him. 

What is it that makes the difference between these 
earlier assemblies and the later one which we call 
Parliament ? 

First, Parliament is a "representative" body — that is, 

it is composed in part of persons who do not sit in right 

How these °f their offices or lands, but who are elected 

from Par- *° re P resen t the people. Second, it is divided 

liament. m { j wo « houses " — a House of Lords, and a 

House of Commons. And third, it has more power than 

the older assemblies had. 

The addition of "representatives," along with the 
great churchmen and barons, was the first step in trans- 
forming the old Great Council into the Parliament. 

The practice of having "representatives," to act in the 
name of the community, was first used in local govern- 
"Repre- ment. In the Anglo-Saxon time, each town- 
first used ship sent four representatives to take part in 
affairs. the "hundred" and "shire" meetings. When 
Henry II. introduced jury trial, he was really using the 
"representative" principle; for every jury gives its 
verdict, not from any right which its members have, 
but in the name of the community which it represents. 
Thus, in many ways, the people became used to the idea 
of having representatives chosen to help carry on the 
local governments, in the name of the people of the 
community. 

Why were representatives added to the Great Council ? 



THE RISE OF PARLIAMENT 117 

The reason was that a time came when the Kings 
needed more money to carry on the enlarged work of 
government; and, as this money must come Represen- 

t3tl\CS 

chiefly from the people of the towns and added to 
iiii j the Great 

country, it seemed best to ask them to send Council. 

representatives to meet with the Great Council, and give 

the consent of their communities to the new taxes. 

These representatives were of two sorts: first, the 
" knights of the shire," who represented the lesser 
nobles and country gentlemen who were not members 
of the Great Council; and, second, the "borough repre- 
sentatives," who came from the cities and towns 
(boroughs) and represented the trading classes. 

The knights of the shire were the first to be added to 
the assembly. In 1213, for the first time, the King 
called them to meet with the Great Council, (1) 
" to speak with us concerning the business of J^ih^e^ 
our kingdom." From time to time after that < 1213 )- 
" knights of the shire" were summoned to the assemblies, 
until the practice became permanent They were elected 
by the landholders, in the county assemblies, and every 
county sent two, no matter what its size. 

We have already seen that it was Simon de Montfort 
who, in 1265, first called representatives of the towns, or 
" boroughs," to the central assembly. In (2) Bor- 
1295, Edward I. called a meeting which represen- 
established it as a rule that, in a Parliament, (1265). 
there ought to be representatives both of the counties 
and of the towns. This was called the " Model Parlia- 
ment, " because it became a model for succeeding ones. 
The number of boroughs which sent representatives was 
greater than in 1265, and from time to time changes were 
made in the list in after days. Each town which sent 
representatives at all elected two. 



118 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

At first, the representatives of the counties and towns 
sat in the same body with the barons and great church- 
men; but, by the year 1340, the Parliament 
i S nto a (i) tion nad separated into two "houses." The 
ofi.ords Se Upper House became the House of Lords, 
and included the great barons (who bore the 
titles of "Duke," "Marquis," " Earl," " Viscount," and 
"Baron"), and also the archbishops and bishops, and 
the abbots or heads of monasteries. 

The Lower House became the House of Commons, 

and in course of time it became the most important part 

of Parliament. This was because it was 

and (2) the 

House of called upon, especially, to vote the taxes 

Commons. . x 1 1 p 

which the King needed for carrying on the 
government. For a time the towns and counties looked 
upon representation in Parliament as a burden. But, 
gradually, their representatives began to hold back the 
voting of taxes, until the King and his ministers promised 
to correct any grievances of which they complained. 
Then it was seen that the right of voting taxes was a 
great and valuable power, and the people no longer 
complained of the burden of being represented in 
Parliament. 

At first, it was not certain whether the Commons 
should be admitted to a share in the law-making power, 
The Com- or wne t ner t nev should be only allowed to 
gJv^n equal vo * e t axes - But in his summons to the " Model 
powers. Parliament" Edward I. laid down the prin- 
ciple that "what concerns all should be approved by 
all." And, twenty-seven years later, the rule was laid 
down that all matters which concerned the kingdom and 
the people " shall be established in Parliament, by the 
King, and by the consent of the Lords and the Commons 
of the realm." From this time on the powers of the 



THE RISE OF PARLIAMENT 119 

Commons grew, until they are now much greater than 
those of the House of Lords. 

But we must not think of these early Parliaments as 
having the great powers which Parliaments have today. 
The King was still much more powerful than 
the Parliament, though since the granting of not yet 
the Great Charter it was recognized that the supreme * 
King was below the law, and not above it. In making 
new laws, and in laying new taxes, he needed the consent 
of Parliament; but in carrying on the general business of 
the government — in making war, and in concluding 
peace — he could act without Parliament. Often he 
consulted Parliament about such matters, but he could 
act as he 'pleased. The ministers who carried on the 
government were still the King's ministers, and respon- 
sible to him only. It was to be several centuries yet — 
and a great civil war must be fought, and one King be- 
headed and another deposed — before Parliament was 
recognized as the chief power in the government. 

Nevertheless, by the time that Edward III. came to 
the throne, the framework of Parliament — though not its 
po wers — was complete. 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Rule three columns on the blackboard, head one ' ' Witenage- 

niot,'' the next "Great Council," and the third "Parlia- 
ment, ' ' and write down the chief facts concerning each body. 

2. Show how the "representative principle" enables free gov- 

ernments in modern times to rule much greater territories 
than was possible for the little republics of Greece, when 
the representative principle was not yet developed. 

3. Show how the representative principle enabled the people to 

use the rights of self-government which they forced the 
Kings to grant. 

4. Find out what you can about the Parliament called by Simon 

de Montfort in 1265. 

5. Do the same for the Model Parliament of 1295. 



XV 



EDWARD III. AND THE HUNDRED 
YEARS' WAR 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

When Edward III. was King; his character; the most important 
thing in his reign. 

Causes of the Hundred Years' War; dates when it began and 
ended; grounds on which Edward III. claimed the French 
throne. 

The Battle of Crecy; to what the English victory was due; 
English gain from the victory; the Scots defeated by 
Edward; Neville's Cross. 

The Battle of Poitiers; mistakes made by the French; gains of 
the English. 

Date and terms of the Peace of Bretigny; renewal of the war; 
why the English successes were then checked. 

The Black Death; its origin; how it came to Europe; date when 
it broke out in France; other European countries which suf- 
fered from it; its effects on the number of the people in 
Europe as a whole; in England; its effect on agriculture and 
the organization of society. 

Edward III. reigned for fifty years — from 1327 to 

1377. During the first four years, the government was 

in the hands of those who had deposed 

Edw^rdni. Edward II.; but when Edward III. was 

(1327-1377). e igk|- een y ears oIq^ ne took the power into 

his own hands. He was handsome, brave, and ener- 
getic. In the greater part of his reign, the people gladly 
supported him, for the wars which he carried on were 
popular, and he let Parliament have much power. But, 
in his old age, he grew selfish and extravagant, and 
troubles arose. 

120 



THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR 121 

The most important thing in the reign of Edward III. 
was the beginning of a long war — or rather a series of 
wars— with France. We call this the Hun- Hundred 

Ycsirs Wur 

dred Years' War, because it lasted for more with France 
than a century, from 1337 to 1453. (1337). 

Many causes combined to produce this long war. 
The English Kings could not forget that they had once 
held Normandy, and no King of France could be 
content so long as another King was his vassal for so 
large a part of the kingdom as the English King still 
held in Gascony. When Edward III. renewed the 
English war with Scotland, the French King aided the 
Scots; and when troubles broke out in Flanders, in 
northern France, Edward III. supported the Flemish 
people against their count, who was supported by his 
overlord, the King of France. In this last quarrel, the 
English people were strongly on the side of their King; 
for the industrious cloth manufacturers of the Flemish 
cities were the chief customers for England's wool. 

When war had been decided upon, Edward III. 
made matters worse by claiming that he was the rightful 
King of France. His mother was the sister Edward 
of the last preceding French King; and when pre'™^ 1 * 16 
this King died without sons, Edward said throne - 
that the French crown should have gone to him, as that 
King's nephew. But the French had a rule that no 
woman could reign over France, and they had decided (as 
they had a perfect right to do) that this also shut out 
those who claimed through a woman, as Edward did. 
They therefore had given the crown to the nearest male 
member of their royal house, whose right came entirely 
through males. Even when the Hundred Years' War 
finally ended, the English Kings did not cease styling 
themselves "Kings of France"; and it was not until 



122 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

the beginning of the nineteenth century that this claim 
was finally abandoned. 

Two very famous battles — the battles of Crecy and 
Poitiers — were fought in this war, while Edward III. 
was King; and later, as we shall see, a third great battle — 
that of Agincourt — was fought by Henry V. In all three 
of these battles, the victory was chiefly due to the 
strength and skill of the English archers, with their 
"long bows" and "cloth-yard shafts," which could shoot 
true for two hundred yards, and pierce through coats 
of mail. 

The battle of Crecy was fought in northern France, in 
1346. Edward III. had landed in Normandy, and 
marched up the valley of the river Seine, 
crecy 6 ° until the flames of the villages burned by the 
English could be seen from the walls of Paris. 
Then he turned northward, with the French in hot 
pursuit. He awaited their attack on a little hill at 
Crecy. The French force was five times as great as that 
of the English, and included a body of hired crossbow- 
men from Italy. 

The crossbowmen were no match for the English 
longbowmen. The English arrows fell among them "so 
thick that it seemed as if it snowed," and they broke 
ranks and fled. 

"Slay these rascals," angrily cried the French King, 
pointing to the crossbowmen, "for they trouble us 
without reason." 

" But ever still," says the chronicler Froissart, who 
wrote about these wars, " the Englishmen shot wherever 
the crowd was thickest. The sharp arrows pierced the 
knights, and their horses, and many fell, both horse and 
men; and when they were down they could not rise again, 
for the press was so thick that one overthrew another." 



THE HUNDRED YEARS' AVAR 123 

Edward III. had given the command of one division 
of his knights (who fought on foot in this battle) to his 
sixteen year old son, Edward the Black Prince. The 
King himself guided the whole battle from the tower of 
a little windmill on the battlefield. Presently a mes- 
senger came to him in haste, and said: 




BATTLE OF CRECY 

From an old manuscript. To the left are the French forces, 

to the right the English. The armies were not so 

near together as the picture shows 

'* Sire, those about the Prince are fiercely fought and 
sore handled, wherefore they desire that you and your 
division come and aid them." 

" Is my son dead, or hurt, or felled to earth ?" inquired 
the King. 

"No, sire," replied the messenger, "but he is over- 
matched, and has need of vour aid. 



124 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

"Well," said the King, "return to them that sent you, 
and say to them that they need send no more to me, no 
matter what happens, as long as my son is alive. And 
also say to them that I wish that they let him this day 
win his spurs. For if God be pleased, I will that this 
day be his, and the honor thereof." 

Night came, with the English lines still unbroken, 
while the French were in hopeless confusion. The 
French King fled wounded from the field, leaving behind 
him eleven princes of France among the slain, and 
thousands of lesser rank. It was one of the greatest 
victories in English history, and it was won by despised 
foot-soldiers, of low rank, against the nobly born knights 
of France. 

The only profit which the English took from their 

victory was to capture the city of Calais, just across the 

Calais Straits from Dover. The French inhabitants 

jmEngush were driven out, and English settlers took 

city. their places. The possession of this city gave 

England a convenient entrance into France, and for 

more than two hundred years it remained in their hands. 

While Edward was fighting in France, the Scots sought 

to aid the French by invading England. Edward's 

The scot- Queen, Philippa, gathered an army which 

tish King defeated and captured the Scottish King, at 

Neville's Cross. A song-writer of that time 

tells how the Scottish King — 

"Brought many bagmen, 

Ready bent was their bow, 
They robbed and they ravaged 
And naught they let go. 

4 But shamed were the knaves 

And sad must they feel, 
For at Neville's Cross 
Needs must they kneel." 



THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR 



125 



The battle of Poitiers was fought ten years later (1356) , 
in southern France. The Black Prince had started to 
march northward into Normandy, but was 
met by an army many times larger than his Poitiers 
own. He offered to surrender the booty he 
had taken, and his prisoners, and to bind himself not to 
fight again for seven years, if the French would let him 
retreat; but they refused. The English force was made 




BATTLE OF POITIERS 
From an old manuscript 

up chiefly of archers, as at Crecy. The French, who were 
mostly armored knights, fought on foot, thinking it was 
the dismounted knights of the English who had won the 
day at Crecy. The English were stationed on a little 
plateau, protected by a hedge and by some rough and 
marshy ground. 

The English archers did their work so well, that the 
first and second divisions of the French broke ranks and 
fled, before thev came within striking distance of the 



126 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

English. Then the third division advanced, under the 
command of the French King himself. 

"Then was there a sore fight," says the chronicler 
Froissart, " and many a great stroke was given and 
received. The French King, with his own hands, did 
marvels in arms; he had a battle-ax in his hands, 
wherewith he defended himself, and fought in the 
thickest of the press." 

But it was in vain. The third division of the French 
at last fled; and the King and his youngest son. refusing 
to flee, were taken captives by the English Prince. The 
whole English army was made rich by the gold, silver, 
and jewels which they took. 

"That day," says Froissart, "whoever took any 
prisoner, he was clear his, and he might let him go or 
ransom him as he chose." 

The French King was kept captive for four years, 

though he was entertained with great festivities. In 

The French 1360 he signed a peace (called the Peace of 

tured C and Bretigny) by which he agreed to pay an 

ransomed. enormous ransom, and to give up his rights 

as King over Gascony. In return, Edward III. agreed 

to give up his claim to the French throne. 

This treaty was never fully carried out, and war began 

again nine years later. Edward III. was now feeble 

The and worn-out, and the Black Prince was 

successes suffering from a disease which carried him 

checked. Q ff a y ear De f ore hi s father finally died. On 

the other hand, an able and energetic King now sat on 

the French throne, who fought no useless battles, but 

bit by bit conquered the lands of the English. When 

Edward III. died, in 1377, Calais, and a very small part 

of Gascony, were all that remained of his once extensive 

possessions in France. 



THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR 



127 



The Black 
Death 
appears in 
Europe. 



For a time, the English people had profited from the 
French war. Almost every household could show some 
spoil — a featherbed, rich clothes, 
fine weapons— won by the bravery 
of husband, brothers, or sons. 
But soon heavy taxes had to be 
laid to provide for the expenses of 
the war. Worst of all, in the 
midst of this prosperity came a 
great pestilence, called the Black 
Death — the worst sickness that 
England ever knew. 

The Black Death was a form of 
that disease called the " bubonic 
plague," which is still 
common in Asia. This 
attack started in China, 
and made its way slowly along 
the caravan routes of Asia, until 
it reached the Black Sea. It was 
carried by ships of Italian traders 
to the cities of Italy, and thence 
to France. It appeared in France 
two years after the battle of 
Crecy, and soon passed over into 
England. Germany, Norway, and 
Russia all suffered from it. It 
was the scourge of the whole 
civilized world. 

We now know that the "plague" 

is carried by a certain kind of 

fleas, which live on rats; and it is 

probable that the fleas and rats came in the bundles of 

merchandise which caravans and ships brought and 




THE BLACK PRINCE 
(From his tomb) 
Shows chain "mail" about the 
body over which is worn an 
embroidered cloth tunic; on 
the legs and feet is "plate" 



128 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

spread throughout Europe. The disease spread from 
country to country, from city to city, from village to 
village, from house to house. 

When it once appeared in a house, all of the inhab- 
itants were almost sure to be attacked by it. Even 
pigs, sheep, and other animals died from its effects. It 
showed itself by the appearance of dark blotches and 
boils on the body, from which we give it its name — " the 
Black Death." Persons seized by it in the morning 
were often dead by night. Few recovered who were 
once attacked by it. 

The number of persons who died is difficult to esti- 
mate. In some places almost all of the people perished; 
in England as a whole fully one-half were 
o?it" swept away. Probably one-third of the popu- 

lation of all Europe died from it. A monk 
described its ravages in France in these words: 

" It is impossible to believe the number who have died 
throughout the whole country. Travelers, merchants, 
pilgrims, declare that they have found cattle wandering 
without herdsmen in fields, towns, and waste lands. 
They have seen barns and wine-cellars standing wide 
open, houses empty, and few people to be found any- 
where. In many towns where there were before 20,000 
people, scarcely 2,000 are left. In many places the 
fields lie uncultivated." 

Often there were left no priests to console the dying. 
The dead were buried hastily, great numbers at a time, 
in long ditches dug in the fields — for the cemeteries were 
filled to overflowing. 

Try to think, for a moment, what all this meant to the 
countries concerned. The disease soon passed away, 
except for a few milder reappearances. But the effects 
of its ravages remained for centuries. 



THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR 129 

In England, before the Black Death, there were about 
four or five millions of people. When it had passed 
away, there were about half this number, It produces 
and it was long before the number of inhab- %™n iea ia 
itants again rose as high as three million. En ^ land - 

Field laborers became scarce, and those who were left 
demanded increased wages. Many "villains" left the 
estates of their masters, and fled to the towns, or found 
places elsewhere where their lot was easier. Parliament 
passed laws to keep wages and prices at their old level, 
but these could not be enforced. The old system of 
labor and agriculture broke down, and a new one 
gradually took its place. In part the change was a 
benefit to the laborers, by enabling them in the end to 
better their condition; but at all events it was a 
revolution in the organization of society. 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. What was it which bound the English and Flemish together? 

Why did the Scots aid the French? Is it likely that the 
Hundred Years' War would have arisen if the English 
Kings had not held lands in France? 

2. Find out what you can about the English archers and their 

long-bows. What advantages did the long-bow have over 
the cross-bow? 

3. Write an account in your own words of the life and deeds of 

the Black Prince. 

4. Locate on the map the places connected with the Hundred 

Years' War. 

5. Describe the Battle of Crecy; of Poitiers. 

6. Write a brief account of the Black Death. Why do such 

diseases cause fewer deaths now? 



XVI 

RICHARD II. , 
THE LAST PLANTAGENET KING 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Dates of Eichard II. 's reign; causes of the troubles of his reign. 
John Wyclif ; name given to his followers; what became of them; 

importance of this movement. 
Grievances of the peasants; who stirred them up to rebellion; 

date of the rebellion; their chief leader; his fate; behavior 

of the young King; results of the revolt. 
Political struggles under Eichard; Henry of Bolingbroke; how 

Eichard injured him; return of Bolingbroke and overthrow of 

Eichard; Bolingbroke claims the throne. 

When Edward III. died, in 1377, he was succeeded by 

his grandson, Richard II. He was the son of the Black 

Troubled Prince, and was only ten years old when he 

Richard ii became King. His reign of twenty-two years 

(1377-1399). was fi\\ e( \ with many troubles. These were 

due to the quarrels of parties while he was under age; 

to the religious and social changes of the time; and to 

a combination of weakness and violence in his own 

character. 

A religious movement, started by John Wyclif, a great 

preacher and university professor at Oxford, was respon- 

Reiigious sihle for part of the troubles of his reign. 

jo f hi msof Wyclif complained bitterly of many evils in 

wyciif. t| ie Church, and said that they were due to the 

fact that the Pope, bishops, and abbots were no longer 

poor men like Christ and the Apostles, but lived in 

luxury, and were rulers of great estates. He gathered 

together a body of "poor priests," whom he sent forth to 

130 



THE LAST PLANT AG ENET KING 131 



teachings. 



live among the people and preach his doctrines. And 
to aid their work, he translated the Bible, for the first 
time, from the Latin, which was then vised in the churches, 
into the English tongue spoken by the common people. 
If Wyclif had stopped here, all might have been well; 
but he went further, and attacked the teaching of the 
church concerning the Lord's Supper. This was too 
much for many who had supported him, and he began 

to lose followers. 
A rebellion, 
which broke out 
among the peas- 
ants, was also 
charged to his 
His 
opinions were 
therefore con- 
demned, and he 
was obliged to 
stop teaching at 
Oxford. But, as 
yet, there was 
no law in Eng- 
land, as there 
was on the Con- 
tinent, for burn- 
er teachers of wrong religion; so 
Wyclif was allowed to retire into the country, where he 
died a few years afterward. Later a law was passed 
" for the burning of heretics," and then all the " Lollards " 
(as those were called who held Wyclif 's opinions), were 
obliged either to give up their opinions, or to suffer death 
at the stake. More than a century later, when Luther, in 
Germany, had begun the Reformation of the Church, 




IIII1I//F 



JOHN WYCLIF 



ing "heretics 



132 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



and England had broken away from obedience to the 
Pope, the reformers looked back to Wyclif, and called 
him "the Morning Star of the Reformation." 

The rebellion of the peasants, for which Wyclif was 

held partly responsible, came in the year 1381. Several 

things beside his teachings helped to pro- 

of r the am duce it. Since the time of the Black Death, the 

peasants. j anc ilords na( ] tried to keep fast hold on the 

villains (or "serfs") who were left to them, and would 

no longer permit them to escape the burdensome duties 




PEASANTS PLOWING 




PEASANTS BREAKING CLODS WITH MALLETS 



which they owed by paying small sums of money. The 
free peasants also complained bitterly of the laws which 
Parliament passed to keep down wages, and to prevent 



THE I AST PLANT AGENET KING 



133 



their going where they pleased. And the discontent was 
brought to a head by a law imposing a new sort of tax — 
a " poll tax," or head tax — upon all the people above 
fourteen years of age, at a uniform rate for both rich 
and poor. 

The troubles which followed occurred, more or less, 
all over England. But it was chiefly in the southeastern 
parts — in the counties of Kent and Essex — that the 
movement was dangerous. 




HARROWING 
The boy with a sling is driving away the birds from the grain 




MEN AND WOMEN REAPING 



There a priest named John Ball had, for some time, 
been preaching against the oppression of the poor by the 
rich. 



134 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

"Ah, ye good people, " he would say, " matters will not 
go well in England until everything is owned in common, 
and there are no longer villains nor gentle- 
preaches men, but all are united together. Now, the 
lords are clothed in velvets and furs, while we 
are clothed with poor cloth. They have wines, spices, 
and good bread, while we live upon chaff and drink 
water. They dwell in fine houses, while we have pain 
and labor, wind and rain, in the fields. And when the 
produce is raised by our labors, they take it, and con- 
sume it; and we are called their bondmen, and, unless 
we serve them readily, we are beaten." 

He summed up his teaching in this verse, which was 
everywhere repeated : 

'When Adam delved and Eve span, 
Who was then the gentleman ? ' ' 

But John Ball was not the chief leader of the move- 
ment when the peasants actually broke out into revolt. 
The peas- That position was held by a peasant named 
unde^wat Wat ( or Walter) Tyler, who had great 
Tyler (1381). coura g ej was a good speaker, and knew how 
to get and to keep the support of his followers. 

First, the peasants attacked their own landlords, 
burned the records which showed the services they owed, 
destroyed the deer-parks, and emptied the fish ponds. 
Lawyers were put to death wherever met with, for it 
was by their aid that the peasants were oppressed. 
Then the peasants made their way to London — perhaps 
100,000 of them — and were secretly aided and encour- 
aged by the apprentices and poor citizens of the capital. 
London bridge fell into their hands, and they entered the 
city, burning the houses of those great lords whom they 
held responsible for misgovernment, freeing prisoners, 



THE LAST PLANTAGENET KING 135 

and rioting and plundering everywhere. It was no 
wonder that the chief officers of the government, in 
their refuge in the Tower, with their fifteen vear old 
King, trembled for their lives. 

The next day, Richard II. met the rebels in a large 
open place called Mile End. He heard their grievances, 
and granted them a charter by which they The young 
were no longer to be serfs, and were to have J^f grants 
their lands at a low rent. Many of the rebels demands - 
then returned home. The dav after this, Richard met 




JOHN BALL AT THE HEAD OF REBELS 



those who remained, under Wat Tyler, at a place called 
Smithfield, where they demanded further reforms — 
free hunting and fishing, and the right to take fuel and 
timber for building from the woods, and the division of 



136 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

the church property. The King pretended to accept 
these demands, also. 

This meeting took place at some little distance from 

the peasant forces, and the peasants could not see what 

Tyler slain was &* om & on between their leader and the 

revolt 16 King. One of the courtiers took this oppor- 

crushed. tunity to pick a quarrel with Tyler, and slew 

him. His followers were told that their leader would 

meet them elsewhere. When they discovered how they 

had been tricked, they were panic-stricken, and soon 

scattered to their homes. 

According; to one account, young Richard showed 
great courage when the peasants discovered how they 
had been deprived of their leader. As the story goes, 
they began to place arrows on their bow-strings to avenge 
his death; but Richard rode boldly forward, and said: 
" What need you, my masters ? Would you shoot 
your King? I will be your captain." 

When the revolt was over, the government declared 
that the promises which had been made to the peasants 
were not binding, and that everything should be as it had 
been before. The leaders of the rebellion, including 
John Ball, were brought to trial and put to death. 

In spite of the withdrawal of the promises made to the 
peasants, villainage gradually came to an end. Land- 
lords found that unwilling service was unprofitable, and 
within a hundred years after the great Peasants' Revolt, 
villains had practically ceased to exist in England. 

Besides the religious troubles connected with Wyclif's 

teachings, and the social troubles connected with the 

Political Peasant Revolt, the reign of Richard II. was 

undif les filled with political troubles, which ended in 

Richard. j^ } )em g deposed and another King chosen 

in his place. 



THE LAST PLANTAGENET KING 137 

It would take too long to tell the story of all these 
troubles — how Parliament appointed a commission to 
guide the King's rule; how the King's judges declared 




LONDON BRIDGE 
Notice the houses built on the bridge, also the heads over the bridge gate 



that the leaders of Parliament had committed treason; 
how those leaders collected an army and defeated the 
King's forces; how the King's friends were hanged or 
exiled by order of "the Merciless Parliament"; how the 



138 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

King declared himself of age, and ruled wisely for eight 
years; how he suddenly changed, and put to death or 
banished his worst enemies; how he surrounded Parlia- 
ment with his archers, and compelled it to give him a 
tax for life, and to grant him greater powers than any 
other English King had ever had. His triumph helped 
him little, for he did not know how to use power when 
once it was in his hands. 

One of the most powerful men of the kingdom was 

Henry of Bolingbroke, son of the Duke of Lancaster. 

Henry of His father, who was called John of Gaunt, 

bodice 6 " was ^ ne third son of Edward III., and Henry 

exiled. himself was Duke of Hereford. He had 

shown himself a good knight, by fighting for a time in 

eastern Germany against the heathen Slavs, and by 

going on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He first sided 

against Richard II., and then for him; but Richard took 

the opportunity, offered by Henry's quarrel with another 

nobleman, to banish both from the kingdom. Then, 

while Henry of Bolingbroke was absent, his father died 

(in 1390), and Richard seized the lands of the Duke of 

Lancaster for himself. 

To recover this inheritance, Henry of Bolingbroke 
landed in England with sixty folloAvers. The sixty soon 
He returns became sixty thousand, for all classes of 
throws"" people were offended by Richard's rule. At 
Richard. this time, Richard was in Ireland, carrying 
on war; so his enemies were free to gather their forces. 
When Richard hastily returned, he found himself 
deserted by everyone, and soon fell into Henry's hands. 
" Your people, my lord," said Henry, " complain that 
for twenty years you have ruled them harshly. How- 
ever, if it please God, I will help you to rule them better." 
Soon this pretense was thrown off, and Richard was 



THE LAST PLANTAGENET KING 139 

given to understand that lie must resign his crown; and 
to this he weakly consented. The poet, Shakespeare, 
makes Richard speak these words: 

"What must the King do now? Must he submit? 
The King shall do it: must he be depos'd? 
The King shall be contented: must he lose 
The name of King? God's name, let it go: 
I'll give my jewels for a set of beads, 
My gorgeous palace for a hermitage, 
My gay apparel for an alms-man's gown, 
My figured goblets for a dish of wood, 
My scepter for a palmer's walking-staff, 
My subjects for a pair of carved saints, 
And my large kingdom, for a little grave! " 

A Parliament was called, and the King's abdication 
was read to it. Then Henry of Bolingbroke stepped 
forward, by the vacant throne, and said: 

" I, Henry of Lancaster, claim this realm and the 
crown, since I am descended by right line of blood from 
the good King Henry III., and since God has Boling . 
sent me with help of my kin and my friends to {£° g! ™ ade 
receive it, when the realm was on the point of Henr y IV - 
being undone by lack of government and the undoing of 
good laws." 

The whole Parliament accepted this claim, and he was 
seated upon the throne, as Henry IV. — the first of the 
Lancastrian Kings. By right of descent, he was not the 
nearest heir to the throne after Richard II., for he was 
descended from the third son of Edward III., and a 
descendant from the second son existed in the person of 
the young Earl of March. But the Earl of March was 
only six years old, and Parliament passed over his claims 
in favor of those of the house of Lancaster. 



140 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

Later, as we shall see, the claim through the Earl of 
March became one factor in the great Wars of the Roses, 
which in turn brought the rule of the Lancastrians to 
an end, just as the revolution of 1399 brought to an end 
the rule of the direct line of the Plantagenet Kings. 



TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Find out what you can about Wyclif and his teachings. 

2. Imagine yourself a r>easant boy or girl, and tell the story of 

the Peasants' Eevolt. 

3. What was the nature of the rebellions in England before this 

time? What does the Peasants' Revolt show with reference 
to the power of the people? 

4. Find out what you can about Henry of Bolingbroke, and tell 

the story of his rise to be King. 

5. Why did Richard II. lose his throne? Compare him with King 

John, Henry III., and Edward II. 



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XVII 

THE LANCASTRIAN KINGS, AND THE 
CLOSE OF THE HUNDRED 
YEARS' WAR 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Names of the Lancastrian Kings; dates of their reigns; revolts 
against Henry IV.; "Hotspur"; why Henry was unwilling 
to ransom Mortimer; the Percies overcome; three reasons 
for the successes of Henry IV. 

Advice given by Henry IV. to his son; how Henry V. followed 
this; change in warfare shown by the siege of Harfleur. 

The Battle of Agincourt; cause of the English victory; conquests 
following this battle. 

Divisions among the French; the treaty of Troyes; the part of 
France in Henry's possession at the time of his death; rule 
of the Duke of Bedford. 

Joan of Arc; how she came to take part in the war; her suc- 
cesses; her fate; the work which she accomplished. 

Causes of the English loss of France; the end of the war; the 
English still held Calais. 



Henry IV., Henry V., and Henry VI. — father, son, 

and grandson — were the Kings of the House of Lan- 

TheLan- caster. The first reigned fourteen years, the 

Kufgs 3 " second nine, and the last thirty-nine; the first 

(1399-1461). j ia( j c liffi c . u ity J n keeping the kingdom he had 

won, the second added to it by conquering the kingdom 

of France, and the third lost all through weakness and 

insanity. 

It was only in the last five years of his reign that 
Henry IV. was free from rebellions against his rule. 



CLOSE OF HUNDRED YEARS' AVAR 143 

In the first year there was a revolt which was intended 
to restore Richard II. to the throne. This was easily 
put down, and a few months later Richard 
died suddenly in his prison — put to death by a ga/nst 
order of the new King. enry 

A more serious rebellion was the one led bv Owen 
Glendower, a Welshman, under whom the Welsh people 
made an effort to recover their independence. Again 
and again the Welsh came down from their mountain 
valleys, attacked the border counties of England, and 
then returned to their mountain retreats, whither the 
English army could hardly follow them. 

The most serious rebellion of all followed, in England, 
as a result of one of these raids in which the Welsh took 
prisoner an English lord, named Mortimer. King Henry 
feared Mortimer because he was the uncle of the young 
Earl of March, the rightful heir to the throne; and so he 
took no steps to ransom him. This conduct of the King 
angered the powerful family of the Percies, who had 
aided Henry to gain the throne, and had just won a 
great victory over the Scots; for Mortimer was related to 
them also. Accordingly, Sir Harry Percy, who was 
called "Hotspur" because of his quick temper, went to 
the King and said: 

" Shall a man spend his goods, and put himself in peril 
for you and your realm, and you will not help him in his 
need?" 

At this the King, in turn, grew angry, and said: 

"Thou art a traitor! Wilt thou that I should aid mine 
enemies and the enemies of the realm ?" 

"Traitor am I none," Hotspur replied, "but as a true 
man I speak." And when the King drew his dagger 
upon him, and would have attacked him, Hotspur 
cried : 



H4 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



"Not here, but in the field!" 

And with this, lie left the King, and hurried home to 
raise his forces. 

The Percies, with the Scots whom they had taken 




BATTLE OF SHREWSBURY 

Notice the various weapons and manners of fighting. In the upper left 

corner arc the King and the royal banner 



prisoners, then marched southward to join Glendower. 
At Shrewsbury, on the borders of Wales, they met King 
Henry, with his army. 



CLOSE OF HUNDRED YEARS' WAR 145 

"Then there was a strong and hard battle," says a 
chronicler, " and many were slain on both sides. And 
when Harry Percy saw his men fast slain, 
he pressed into battle, with thirty men, and percies 
made a lane in the middle of the King's 
host, till he came to the King's banner. And at last 
he was beset about and slain, and soon his host was 
scattered and fled. And Sir Harry Percy's head was 
smitten off, and set up at York, lest his men would have 
said that he had been alive." 

Percy's uncle was taken prisoner and beheaded. His 
father was pardoned for a time; but next year he rebelled 
again, and when at last he was captured, after three years 
of wandering, he, too, was put to death. Glendower was 
never captured, but was no longer dangerous to England. 

One reason for the King's success, in putting down 
rebellions, was that the people were prosperous during 
his reign; and another was, that he kept on Henry sup- 

i • i t» i* T7-* tt •> ported by 

good terms with Parliament. King Henry s Parliament 
title to the throne came from Parliament, and church, 
his need of money made it necessary to please them. 
The result was, that he appointed officers whom he knew 
to be satisfactory to the members of Parliament; he per- 
mitted them to examine into the uses made of the money 
raised by taxes; he chose his Council from among them; 
and he acknowledged that grants of money should always 
be made first by the House of Commons. 

In the year 1413, Henry IV. died — of leprosy, it is said. 
Many people believed that his disease was a punishment 
sent upon him because he had executed an _ ,_ M 

r , Death of 

archbishop who rebelled with the Percies. Henry iv. 

. , (1413). 

The poet, Shakespeare, makes him speak 

these words, on his death-bed, to his son and successor, 

Henrv V.: 



146 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

"Heaven knows, my son, 
By what by-paths, and indirect crook'd ways, 
I met this crown; and I myself know well, 
How troublesome it sat upon my head : 
To thee it shall descend with better quiet, 
Better opinion, better confirmation; 
For all the soil of the achievement goes 

With me into the earth 

Therefore, my Harry, 

Be it thy course, to busy giddy minds 

With foreign quarrels; that action, hence borne out, 

May waste the memory of the former days." 

Henry V. proved to be a conquering general, and 
became the idol of his people. He is represented by 
Shakespeare as having been a wild and 
Henry v. reckless youth, who was so changed by the 
' responsibilities of power that he became an 
ideal King. There is no proof of his wildness as a 
Prince, but as a King he certainly was sober, clear- 
headed, and vigorous. 

He followed his father's advice to " busy giddy minds 

with foreign quarrels" by putting forth again the claim 

to the French crown. He invaded France 

He renews . . . , „ , 

the French with an army, made up mostly ot archers. 

While he was making his way to Calais, 

the French met him with an army which outnumbered 

his own probably five to one. The battle was fought, 

at Agincourt (October 25, 1415), and proved as great a 

victory as those which Edward III. and the Black Prince 

had won in the beginning of the Hundred Years' War. 

"The ground," says an old chronicler, "was narrow, 

and very advantageous for the English, and the contrary 

Battle of for the French; for the latter had been all 

(1415). night on horseback in the rain, and pages 

and valets and others, in walking their horses, had 

broken up the ground, which was soft, and in which the 



CLOSE OF HUNDRED YEARS' WAR 147 

horses sunk in such a manner that it was with great 
difficulty they could get up again. Besides, the French 
were so loaded with armor that they could not move. 
First, they were armed in long coats of steel, reaching 
to their knees and very heavy, below which was 
armor for their legs, and above, armor for the head 
and neck; and so heavy was their armor that, together 
with the softness of the ground, they could with difficulty 




CITY OF ROUEN 
Above are printed old forms of the city's name 



lift their weapons. The greater part of the English 
archers were without armor, wearing doublets, and 
having hatchets and axes, or long swords hanging from 
their girdles; some wore caps of boiled leather, or of 
wicker work, crossed with iron." 

The French army was completely broken up. Their 
slain numbered as many as the whole of the English 
army, while the English lost little more than a hundred, 



148 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



all told. The victory was won almost entirely by the 
bowmen. After the battle, the English marched to 
Calais, and thence took ship for England, where they 
were received with great rejoicing. 

Two years later, Henry invaded France a second time, 

and the remainder of his reign was occupied with his 

conquests there. The French had grown 

S, n r q m uered y CRUtioUS 

s i n c e the 
battle of Agincourt, 
and would not fight 
another great battle. 
The advance of the 
English, therefore, 
was slow. They first 
captured many castles 
i n Normandy, and 
laid siege to Rouen, 
the capital of that 
province. The rulers 
of the city, in order to 
reduce the number of 
mouths to be fed, 
drove out a large 
number of the poorer, 
unarmed inhabitants. 
King Henry would 

not permit them to pass through his lines, so for several 
weeks these poor creatures wandered between the English 
lines and the walls of Rouen, starving and shelterless. 
"War," said the English King, in justifying this cruel 
policy, "has three hand-maidens ever waiting on her — 
fire, blood, and famine — and I have chosen the meekest 
maid of the three." 




AN ATTACK ON A CASTLE 

Note the cannon to the left. Hand guns 

were not yet used 



CLOSE OF HUNDRED YEARS' WAR 149 

The French, meanwhile, were divided into two great 
parties, at war with one another. Their King, Charles 
VI., was insane, and the control of the govern- _. . . 

° Divisions 

ment was disputed between his son, the among the 

1 French. 

Dauphin, and the King's uncle, the Duke of 
Burgundy. At last, in 1419, the Duke of Burgundy was 
murdered by one of the Dauphin's followers, in revenge 
for a murder which Burgundy had himself caused. 

This made the breach between the two French parties 
too wide to be healed for many years. The new Duke 
of Burgundy went over to the side of the English, and 
with him went the French Queen, and the city of Paris. 

Soon a treaty was signed, in 1420, by which Henry 
married the French Princess, Katherine. The contest 
for the throne of France was settled by Henry 
acknowledging Henry as regent of France Katrine 
during the lifetime of the insane King, ofFrance - 
Charles VI., and agreeing that he was to become King 
in his own right after Charles's death. 

The Dauphin and his followers refused to recognize 
this treaty as binding. For the present this did not 
much matter, for the English speedily 
drove the Dauphin's followers south of the death of 

r . Henry V. 

river Loire, leaving all the northern half of 
France in possession of the English King. But, in 
the midst of his victories, Henry V. died of camp fever, in 
1422, and the upholder of the English rights was then his 
infant son by Queen Katherine — a babe nine months' old. 
A short time after the death of Henry V., Charles VI. 
of France died. This left the crowns of both Eng- 
land and France to the baby King, Henry VI. Henry V i., 
The government was placed in the hands of j£„g aby 
Henry V.'s brother, the Duke of Bedford, who ("»-*««>■ 
was a man of noble character and an excellent soldier. 



150 • THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

For several years, Bedford carried on the war in France 
with great success. At last, the only place of importance 




MARRIAGE OF HENRY V. AND KATHERINE OF FRANCE 

The Eng- ne ^ D y the dispossessed Dauphin was the 
siege to c ^7 °f Orleans, and to this the English were 
Orleans. laying siege. If this should fall, the whole of 
France would pass into English hands. 



CLOSE OF HUNDRED YEARS' WAR 151 



But now there occurred one of the most wonderful 
things in history — the rise to successful leadership 
over the French army of a young girl, named Joan 
of Arc. 

Joan was of peasant birth, and like most peasants 
could not read or write. She was a good, sweet girl, and 
very religious; and she was deeply touched by 
the miseries of France. 



Rise of 

She began to hear Joan of 

Arc. 

of the saints, which urged her to 



voices 

free France, and to bring 
the Dauphin to the city 
of Rheims to be crowned 
kino-. She long resisted 
the voices, saying, — 

" I am a poor girl. I 
cannot ride or be a leader 

in Avar." In the 

11 • Her • 

end, her voices mission 

and death. 

prevailed; and 
she came, in men's armor, 
with a holy banner and a 
sword, to raise the siege 
of Orleans. It was only 
with difficulty that she 
secured the Dauphin's 
permission; but as soon 
as she appeared in the 
camp, she put a new spirit into the French. The 
English scarcely dared to oppose her, for they believed 
that she was a "limb of the devil." 

In a short time, Joan drove the English from Orleans, 
and then led the French King to Rheims, where he was 
crowned. Joan then said her work was done, but the 
French would not permit her to return home. After 




JOAN OF ARC 



152 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

some further fighting, she was captured by soldiers of 
the Duke of Burgundy, who sold her to the English. 

At the command of the English, she was accused as a 
witch and a heretic. After a long and unjust trial, she 
was condemned to death. She was publicly burned at the 
stake, calling with her last breath upon the name of 
Jesus. One of the English soldiers was so impressed by 
her courage and piety that he exclaimed: 

"We are lost! We have burned a saint!" 

Joan of Arc had accomplished her work. She con- 
vinced the French that, if they would unite, they could 
End of the drive t Re English from their land. Even 
?ea n r d s' war. the Dllke of Burgundy finally broke off his 
(1453). alliance with England, and joined in the 
attack upon the common enemy. Just at this time, 
moreover, the Duke of Bedford died. With their best 
general gone, and the French united against them, the 
English were not able to hold what Henry V. had won. 

Matters did not mend for the English when Henry 
VI. grew up to manhood. He had no taste for war 
or business, and would far rather have lived the life 
of a monk. Fierce quarrels broke out among the Eng- 
lish nobles, and those who secured power proved corrupt 
and unsuccessful in their government. 

So, bit by bit, the English lost the lands which they 
held in France. In 1450, Normandy was again taken 
from them. Soon Bordeaux, on the Bay of Biscay, was 
the only place which they held in southern France; and 
in 1453, after the defeat of the English in a hard-fought 
battle, this too was obliged to surrender. There then 
remained to them only one place in all France — the city 
of Calais, which Edward III. had taken in 1347, and 
which England was to hold for a hundred years longer. 

The great civil wars, called the Wars of the Roses, 



CLOSE OF HUNDRED YEARS' WAR 153 

were now coming on in England, so that nothing could 
be done to recover the lost possessions in France. 

Without any treaty of peace, the long Hundred Years' 
War — which had lasted since 1337 — was suffered 
quietly to come to an end. 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Locate on the map the places mentioned in this chapter. 

2. Read Shakespeare 's account of the Battle of Shrewsbury 

(" Henry IV.," Part I, Acts IV. and V.) 

3. Why was the claim of the Lancastrians to inherit the French 

throne less good than that of Edward III.? Could Parlia- 
ment 's election of the Lancastrians to be Kings of England 
give them any rights to the throne of France? What English- 
man had a better right to claim the French throne than 
Henry V.? 

4. Read Shakespeare's account of the Battle of Agincourt. 

("Henry V.," Act IV.) 
"). Was the failure of the English Kings to secure the throne of 

France a good or a bad thing for England? Why? 
6. Find out what you can of Joan of Arc? What great honor 

has the Catholic Church recently paid to her memory? 



XVIII 



THE WARS OF THE ROSES (1455-1485) 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Causes of the troubles in the reign of Henry VI.; the rebellion 

of 1450; complaints of the rebels. 
The Yorkist claim to the throne; purpose of the Duke of York 

at the beginning of the struggle; his chief supporter; the real 

head of the Lancastrian party; why she resisted the Yorkists 

so fiercely. 
The first battle in the war; how the war was renewed; advantage 

gained by the Yorkists at Northampton; adventures of Queen 

Margaret; victory of the Lancastrians at Wakefield; fate of 

the Duke of York; the Lancastrians recover possession of 

Henry VL; they retreat northward; Edward IV. crowned King. 
Edward IV. gains possession of the kingdom; Henry VI. captured 

and imprisoned; quarrel between Edward IV. and Warwick; 

Warwick flees, changes sides; he returns to England and 

expels Edward IV. 
Edward recovers the throne; death of Warwick; Margaret 

defeated; her son slain; Henry VI. put to death; fate of 

Edward's bi other, Clarence. 
How Richard III. got the throne; fate of the two little Princes; 

Richard overthrown by Henry Tudor at Bosworth; effects of 

the Wars of the Roses. 

Henry VI. was one of the most unfortunate kings who 

ever sat on a throne. He was truthful, upright, and just, 

and wished to please everybody. But he had 

Character i • • 1 i> i i 

of Henry neither the strength or mind nor ot body to 
rule a kingdom, and for long periods he was 
actually insane. 

In 1450, the misp;overnment of his ministers led to a 
rebellion, in southeastern England, under one Jack Cade. 
The rebels proclaimed that "the King's false Council 
hath lost his law; his merchandise is lost; France is lost; 
the King himself is so set that he may not pay for his 
meat or drink, and he oweth more than ever any King 

154 



THE AVARS OF THE ROSES 



15.5 



of England owed." The rebellion was easily put down; 
but it led the Duke of York to put himself at the head of 
the opposition, and a struggle then began which soon 
passed into a war for the crown itself. 

In order to understand this contest between the houses 
of York and Lancaster, you will need to look at the table 
on page 141, and see just how each house was Riva , 
descended from King Edward III. Henry YL, ^EJnd 

Lancaster. 

the head of 
the house of 
Lancaster, re- 
presented the 
third line of 
descent; while 
Richard of 
Y o r k w a s 
d escen d ed 
from Ed- 
ward's second 
son, Lionel, 
through h i s 
mother, a s 
well as from 
the fourt J i son, 
through h i s 
father. If 
strict rules of 
successi o n 
were regard- 
e d , Richard 

of York had a better right to the throne than King 
Henry VI. But the claims of the line of Lionel had 
been passed over in 1399, and had been since disregarded; 




MAP OF ENGLAND 
1455-1660 



156 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



and it was only the miserable failure of the French 
war, and the misgovernment at home, which enabled 
the Yorkists to win any attention for their claims. 

At first, the object of York was merely to take the 

government from incapable persons, and to secure it for 

himself; but later he claimed the throne 

Ptirt ics 

to the itself. His ablest supporter was the Earl of 

struggle. 

Warwick, who 
played so important a 
part that he is called " the 
King Maker." On the 
Lancastrian side, the real 
head of the party was 
Queen Margaret, a young 
and beautiful French 
woman, who fiercely re- 
sisted all attempts to 
disinherit her son, Prince 
Edward. On both sides, 
the followers of the dif- 
ferent lords were distin- 




guished by 



the badges 



HENRY VI. 



which the y wore — t he 

swan, the bear and staff, the white hart or deer, and the 

like. But all Lancastrians regarded the Red Rose as 

their emblem, and all Yorkists similarly looked upon 

the White Rose. The wars, which troubled England for 

thirty years, are thus known as the "Wars of the Roses.' 9 

The first battle in this struggle was fought in 1455, at 

St. Albans, where York defeated his enemies, and for a 

The wars ^ me secured control of the government. Four 

Roles be- years later, however, Queen Margaret at- 

gun (1455). tacked the Yorkists with superior forces; 

and York was obliged to flee to Ireland, while his son 



THE WARS OF THE ROSES 



15? 



Edward, and Warwick, fled to Calais, in France. In a 
Parliament which was unfairly elected, Queen Margaret 
then had York and his friends " attainted " of treason — 
that is, they were made outlaws, and their lives and 
iroods were declared forfeited. 

Next year, York returned from Ireland, and his son 
and Warwick from Calais. Warwick found the King's 
army fortified in a meadow near Northampton. But a 




TOWER OF LONDON 

(Present condition) 
The Tower was at first a royal castle and fortress ; later it became a prison 



heavy rain flooded the meadow and made their cannon 
useless, while some of the Lancastrian forces deserted; 
so Warwick won an easy victory. King Henry was 
captured and taken to London; and it is said that the 
city "gave to Cod great praise and thanking" for the 
victory. A new Parliament then repealed the "attain- 
ders" of the previous year, and decided that King Henry 
should keep the crown so long as he lived, but that, after 
his death, it should go to the Duke of York and his 
descendants. 



158 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

After the battle of Northampton, Queen Margaret 
and the little six year old Prince were in great danger. 
Adventures They fell into the hands of some Yorkists, 
Oueen and and were robbed of their goods and insulted 
Prince. and threatened. But a fourteen year old 
squire took pity on them, and while their captors quar- 
reled oyer the booty, he said: 

"Madam, mount you behind me, and my lord the 
Prince before me, and I will save you or die." 

So they escaped, all three riding on one horse. 

At another time, the Queen and her little son took 
refuge in a wood, where they were found by a brigand 
of fierce and terrible appearance. But the Queen told 
her rank, and, placing her boy in the robber's hands, 
said: "Save the son of your King!" 

The man proved faithful, and at length the Queen and 
the little Prince reached friends and safety. 

Richard of York was not left long in enjoyment of his 

victory over his opponents. On the last day of December, 

„ t m 14G0, another battle was fought at Wakefield, 

Death of ° 

Richard in the north of England. York was taken bv 

of York. . . . 

his enemies "like a fish in a net,'' and fell 
fighting at the head of his men. The cruel practice, 
which Warwick had introduced, of putting to death the 
leaders of the other party, was now followed by the 
Lancastrians, and many leading Yorkists were slaugh- 
tered. The bloody head of the Duke of York was set 
over the gate of a near-by town, and was crowned in 
mockery with a paper crown. 

With a large army of rude northerners, Margaret then 
advanced southward. They came, says a chronicler, 
"robbing all the country and people, and spoiling abbeys 
and houses of religion, and chinches: and they bare 
away communion cups, books, and other ornaments, as 



THE WARS OF THE ROSES 



159 



if they had been pagans and not Christian men." They 
again defeated the Yorkists, and rescued the captive 
King, to his great joy. But the citizens of London 
declared against them, and Margaret's army soon 
retreated northward, still plundering as they went. 

IN I e a n w h i 1 e Y o r k's 
eldest son, now nineteen 
years old, had Edward Iv . 
fought his way <£££> 
from Wales to King (i36i). 
London, and had joined 
Warwick. "And there," 
says a chronicler, "he 
took upon him the crown 
of England, by the advice 
of the Lords spiritual and 
temporal, and by the 
election of the Commons." 
He was crowned as Ed- 
ward IV. — the first of the 
Yorkist Kings. 

The new King was tall, 
strong, and handsome; he 
was a much better general 
than Warwick, but not 
so good. a statesman. His 
first task was to pursue Queen Margaret's army, which 
he overtook at Towton, not far from Wakefield. 

As the battle began, a snow-storm set in, which so 
blinded the Lancastrians that they discharged all their 
arrows before the Yorkists came within good He over . 
range. Then Edward's men pressed on — olle^ 
with swords, battle-axes, daggers, and deadly Mar ^ aret - 
hammers of lead, which even helmets of iron could not 




EDWARD IV 



ICO 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



withstand. Both sides fought desperately, and no 
prisoners were taken. In the end. the victory was won 
by King Edward. King Henry and his Queen escaped 
to Scotland; but four years 
later the poor dethroned 
King was captured and again 
imprisoned in the Tower. 
Edward IV. was now recog- 
nized by foreign powers as 
England's ruler. 

Soon quarrels arose be- 
tween the new King and 

Hequar- the mail who liac 
rels with , , . ... 

Warwick, made him King. 

"the King . , 

Maker." War WICK was 

greedy of wealth, influence. 

and power. He kept so 

many followers that "when 

he came to London he held 

such a house that six oxen 

were eaten at a breakfast, 

and every tavern was full of 

his meat, for who had any 

acquaintance in that house 

he should have as much 

boiled and roast as he might 

carry upon a long dagger." 

Edward offended Warwick 

by secretly marrying beneath 

his rank. Then, to build up 

a party against Warwick. 

Edward ennobled and promoted his wife's relatives. 

Warwick won over to his side Edward's weak brother, 

the Duke of Clarence. In addition to aU else, King 




PLATE ARMOR OF THE 

FIFTEENTH CENTURY 

Made of plates of iron riveted 

together 



THE WARS OF THE ROSES 



161 



Edward and Warwick differed over foreign policy; for 
Warwick wisely wished England to remain at peace w T ith 
France, while Edward wanted to renew the French war. 
At last, in 1470, Warwick's friends rebelled, and were 
defeated in a battle, from which they fled so hastily thai 
it was called " Lose-coat Field." Warwick Edward iv. 
and Clarence took refuge at the court of the and Henry 
King of France, where they found Queen (H70). 
Margaret and her son. The French King caused these 



"-',; 




2J^M ' *4 






■ M 








BhL * 4 ■ y^ '^f&B&Bk 








rWWS" '*®hB 








" 















WARWICK CASTLE 

This was one of fifteen strong castles belonging to the Earl of Warwick. 

It is still used as a residence 

former enemies to be friends; and in September, 1470, 
Warwick returned to England, with an army, to drive 
Edward from the throne and restore the Lancastrian line. 

For a time everything went well with Warwick. 
Edward's troops deserted him, and he was forced to flee 
to Flanders. 

Henry VI. was then replaced on the throne, and "all his 
good lovers were glad, and the most part of the people." 



162 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

But in March, 1471, Edward returned, and his brother, 
the Duke of Clarence, joined him. At Barnet, a few 
miles north of London, the battle was fought 
Edward was completely successful, and Warwick was 
slain as he left the field. 

On the very day of the battle of Barnet, Queen Mar- 
garet and her sou lauded in the west of England, and 
Edward iv. soon they were at the head of a considerable 
and Henry armv. A few weeks later the Queen's forces 
dered (1471). met the Yorkist forces at Tewkesbury. There 
King Edward fought and won the last battle needed to 
secure his possession of the crown. The Lancastrian 
Prince, who had become a fine young man of eighteen 
years, was captured after the battle, and was cruelly put 
to death. Queen Margaret was allowed to return to 
France, where she died some years later. As for poor 
Henry VI., who played so feeble a part in all these 
struggles, he was murdered in the 'Tower on the very 

DO v 

day that King Edward returned to London. 

So long as King Edward lived, there was no renewal 
of the war. The townsmen and common people were 
glad to have peace at any price, and willingly submitted 
to the strong rule of the King. The nobles were so 
weakened by the wars that thev could not resist. To 
end the troubles within his oavh family, the King charged 
his brother — "false, fleeting, perjured Clarence" — with 
treason, and had him put to death. 

This hard, unscrupulous, pleasure-loving King died 

in 1483, leaving two sons, Edward and Richard, the one 

twelve years old, and the other ten. The 

Death of • 

Edward iv. elder of these was at once proclaimed King. 
as Edward V.; and his uncle, Richard of 
Gloucester became " Protector," or ruler in the young 
King's name. 



THE WARS OF THE ROSES 



1(W 



Gloucester was a monster of cunning and cruelty, 
and set to work to rob his nephew of the crown. 

He imprisoned and executed the chief supporters 
of the young King. Then lie had it announced that 
///' was the true heir to the throne, and began 

Richard 

t<> reign in his own name. The little Princes m. usurps 

the throne. 

were shut up 
in the Tower of London, 
and soon disappeared 
murdered by the orders 
of their cruel uncle. In 
this way, began the brief 
reign of Richard III., the 
last of the Yorkist kings, 
whom the poet Shake- 
speare represents with a 
crooked hack, to match 
his cruel and crooked 
mind. 

But punishment fol- 
lowed fast upon this 
wicked King. Old York- 
ists joined with what was 
left of the Lancastrian 
party, and soon a great 
conspiracy was on foot. 
They planned to make 

Henry Tudor (a distant relative of Henry VI.) King, 

and marry him to Elizabeth of York, the daughter of 

Edward IV. 

Henry's first expedition from France failed because of 

storms and floods; but a second expedition, in 1485, 

brought him safely to land in Wales. 




RICHARD TIT. 



164 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

At Bosworth field he was met by King Richard, and 

there was fought the last battle of the Wars of the Roses. 

Richard T ne R ec * R° se °f Lancaster triumphed over 

by e He h n7y Wn tlie White Rose of York. Richard's leading 

vn. (1485). ffi cers deserted him, and he died fighting in 

the front of the battle. His crown was picked up from 

the field, and set upon the head of Henry Tudor, who 

was proclaimed King as Henry VII. The marriage with 

Elizabeth of York followed, and the wise policy of 

Henry VII. united the interests of both Lancaster and 

York in the house of Tudor. 

The long warfare for the crown was at last ended. 
The old nobility had suffered greviously through deaths 
on the field and at the block, and through 
of h th^ ars confiscation of estates, and never again did 
^nded. its power seriously threaten the peace of 
England. The common people, however, 
had suffered little in the struggle, and a new era of 
peace and prosperity now dawned for England. Other 
forces, too, had for some time been changing the modes 
of life and thought in Europe. With the close of the 
Wars of the Roses, we may recognize the complete 
ending of the Middle Ages in England, and the estab- 
lishing of the "Renaissance," which begins Modern 
History. 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Locate on the map the places mentioned in this" chapter. 

2. Write in your own words an account of Warwick, the King- 

Maker. 

3. Write an account of Queen Margaret and her son. 

4. Find out what you can of the government which Edward IV. 

gave England. Why were the people willing that he should 
strengthen the royal power? 

5. Find out what you can of the character of Richard III. 



XIX 

HENRY VII., AND THE BEGINNING 
OF MODERN TIMES 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Meaning of the term "Renaissance"; wh.-it it included; where 

and when it began; how it reached England, 
[nvention of printing; its introduction into England; part played 

by Caxton in fixing the English Language. 
England's part in the geographies,] discoveries of this time; 

regions discovered by John Cabot; value to England of this 

discovery. 
Lambert Simnel's pretensions to the Crown; his treatment after 

his rising was put d<»\vn; Perkin Warbeck's claims; his fate; 

story of Lord Lovell. 
Henry *s dealings with ' ' Livery and Maintenance"; the Courl of 

Star ( lhamber. 
Three t hings accomplished by l [enry VI I ; importance of his reign. 

The word "Renaissance" means "re-birth," and we 
use it to name the period when men's minds awakened 
to new activities after the slumbers of the Middle Ages. 
It took the form of a new interest in the literature, art, 
and philosophy of ancient Greece and Rome, for in these 
Meaning men found the same spirit of free inquiry, and 
^'Renais- *he same appreciation of beauty, which they 
sance." now f e j^ w jthin their own breasts. With this 
" revival of learning," as it is called, came also a develop- 
ment of painting, sculpture, and architecture. Gun- 
powder and the compass, were introduced from the 
East; printing was invented; Columbus and Vasco da 
Gama discovered America and the ocean route to India; 
and correct ideas of the earth's form and place in the 
solar system began to replace the mistaken ideas of the 
Middle Ages. 

165 



166 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



In every line, men's minds worked more freely and 
more accurately, and the result was a rapid change in 
almost every line of human endeavor. 

This movement began in Italy, about one hundred and 

fifty years before Henry VII. became King. Gradually 

it spread from that land to the countries north 

it begins f the Alps, and bv the time of Henry VII. 

in Italy. L • , 

the movement was making itself felt in 
England also. A few Italian scholars had come to 
England, and a few Englishmen had gone to Italy, to 
study there, and bring back to England the newly 
revived learning. Then, from 
the University of Oxford as a 
center, there slowly spread, in 
England, a knowledge of (J reck, 
a sounder understanding of the 
old Latin masterpieces, and a 
more sensible way of looking at 
all questions. 

The invention of the art of 

printing did a great deal to aid 

this movement. In 

Invention .. 

of printing the Middle Ages all 

spreads it. . . • i 1 

books were laboriously written with the pen, 
letter by letter, usually by monks or nuns; as a result, 
they were rare and expensive, and only a very few per- 
sons could learn what they had to teach. But, at about 
the time that the Wars of the Roses began, a Ger- 
man named Gutenberg invented a method of casting 
movable metal types, and made possible the printing 
of a large number of copies of a book, with little more 
labor than it would take to Avrite out by hand a single 
copy. Then the types could be separated, and used again 
for printing other books. The value of the new invention 




THE TUDOR ROSE 
This emblem was formed 
by combining the Red 

Rose and the White Rose 



BEGINNING OF MODERN TIMES 167 



was at once seen. Before the century ended printing 
presses were set up in more than two hundred places. 
The first to introduce the new art into England was 
William Caxton, a London cloth merchant who had 
lived in Flanders. While there he became Caxton 
interested in an old French book, which told p"-™?"^ 
the story of the siege of Troy by the Greeks En £ ,and - 
more than two thousand years before that time. To 
please the Duchess of Burgundy, who was the sister of 

King Edward IV., Caxton 
completed a translation of 
the book into English. Then, 
since many people wanted 
copies of his translation, he 
learned the new art of print- 
ing, at the cost of much pains 
and expense, and printed it, 
under the name Histories of 
Troy. This was the very 
first book ever printed in 
the English language. 

In 1477, Caxton returned 
to England, with type pur- 
chased abroad, and set up the 
first printing office in England. The first book printed 
there was The Sayings of the Philosophers. 

In the fourteen years which followed, Caxton printed 
eighty separate books, including histories, stories, poems, 
and religious works; and twenty-one of these he 
himself translated from French into English. 

By always using in his translations the cultivated 
speech which was used at London and the court, Caxton 
helped to fix the literary language of England. The dia- 




EARLY PRINTING OFFICE 



168 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

lects which were spoken in distant parts of the kingdom 

were so different, that it was often impossible for a per- 

„. ._ , son who came from one district to understand 

His books 

l x *£« the speech of another. To show this, Caxton 

English r 

language. j- e \\ s a s t ry of some merchants sailing down 
the Thames river from London, who were becalmed at 
its mouth, and went ashore seeking provisions. 

"And one of them," says Caxton, "came into a house, 
and asked for meat, and specially he asked for 'eggs.' 
The good wife answered that she could speak no French. 
And the merchant was angry, for he, also, could speak 
no French; but he would have eggs, and she understood 
him not. And then at last another said that he would 
have ' eyeren" (another word for eggs). Then the good 
wife understood what he wanted." 

The differences in spelling and pronunciation were as 
great as the differences in words, and it was long before 
a standard of correct English was established. 

It was in the reign of Henry VII., too, that Christo- 
pher Columbus sailed from Spain in the service of 
Queen Isabella, and discovered the New World of 
America. Soon after that (in 1497), Henry VII. sent 
forth a Venetian seaman, named John Cabot, with per- 
john Cabot mission to sail "to all places, lands, and seas, 
Newfound- of the East ' West, and North," and discover 
land (1497.) w h a t l an d s h e could. After discovering land 
near the mouth of the St. Lawrence river (which was 
called "the New-found-land"), Cabot coasted along a 
part of the mainland of North America, and thus laid 
the foundation of the claim to this land which England 
put forth a hundred years later. In the account books 
of Henry VII., we may still read the entry: "To him 
that found the new isle, £10." This seems a small 
reward for so great a service; but Henry VII. was care- 



BEGINNING OF MODERN TIMES 169 



ful of money, and the value of the new discovery was 

then not known. 

For many years Henry's chief attention was directed 

to putting down risings of the Yorkists. 

In the first of these, a 

ten year old boy named 

Lambert Sim- 
Risings 
nel was made against 

Henry VII. 

to play the 
chief part. He was the 
son of a baker, but he 
was trained to act the 
part of a Yorkist prince 
who was then imprisoned 
in the Tower, but who 
was falsely said to have 
escaped. Simnelwas 
crowned King at Dublin, 
in Ireland; and then, with 
Irish and German troops, 
a landing was made in 
England. Scarcely an 
Englishman joined the 
Yorkists, and their troops 
were easily defeated. Lambert Simnel was pardoned, 
and was made a "turn spit" in the King's kitchen. 
Lord Lovel, who was one of the leaders, disappeared. 
Long afterwards, in an underground chamber, some 
workmen accidentally discovered the skeleton of a man 
seated in a chair with his head resting on a table; and 
this, it was said, was the body of the missing man, who 
had hidden there, and through the faithlessness of a 
servant was left to die of starvation. 

A few years later another pretender appeared, in the 




HENRY VII. 



He holds a red rose, the emblem of 
the Lancastrians 



170 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



person of a young man named Perkin Warbeck. He 
claimed to be the younger of the two sons of Edward IV., 
who really had been murdered in the Tower by Richard 
III. For five years he played this part, and was received 
in Ireland, Flanders, and in Scotland, where the Scottish 
King found him a 
wife of noble birth. 
But, in 1497, he 
rashly landed in 
England, and was 
speedily captured 
and shut up in the 
Tower. He soon 
escaped, with the 
real prince whom 
Lambert S i m n e 1 
had impersonated; 
and Henry VII. 
seized the oppor- 
tunity to rid him- 
self of both rivals, 
the true and the 
false, by sending 
them to execution. 

Henry VII. had laws passed forbidding the practice 

known as "livery and maintenance," by which the great 

Henry nobles kept at their call large bands of men, 

thl P g S rert Wn wno wore t ne badges of their masters and 

nobles. we re ready to support them, if need be, by 

force of arms. At one time the King visited the Earl of 

Oxford, who had been one of his strongest supporters. 

When he went away he found a great band of men, 

wearing the Earl's badge, drawn up to show him honor. 

" I thank you for your good cheer," said Henry to the 




ELIZABETH OF YORK 

She holds a white rose, emblem of the 
Yorkists 



BEGINNING OF MODERN TIMES 171 

Earl, "but I cannot endure to have my laws broken in 
my sight. My attorney must speak with you." 

For his disobedience to the law, the Earl was after- 
wards fined the great sum of £10,000. 

Another means of breaking the power of the great 
lords was the development of a court, called (from the 
place where it met) the Court of Star Chamber. It was 
composed of high officers of the King's service, who 
could not be bribed or bullied, as the local juries could; 
and it did an excellent service in bringing to justice great 
men who escaped punishment in the ordinary courts. 
In later years, when the power of great lords no longer 
disturbed the land, other Kings made this court an 
instrument of tyranny, and it was then abolished. 

Henry VII. died in 1509. He had ended the Wars of 
the Roses, increased the power of the crown, and 
gathered great sums of money into the royal 

to & • • Death of 

treasury. But, most of all, he is to be Henry vn. 
remembered because it was in his time that 
the Renaissance was established in England, and the 
way was paved for the changes which produced the 
Reformation of the English Church. 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Find out what you can about the introduction of gunpowder 

and the compass into Europe. 

2. Read an account of Gutenberg and the invention of printing. 

3. Write an account of Caxton and what he did for England. 

4. Tell the story of John Cabot's expeditions to America. 

How did the marriage of Henry VII. with Elizabeth of York 
help him to put down Simnel and Warbeekf 

Find out what you can about the Court of Star Chamber and 
the good work which it accomplished under the Tudors. 

Imagine yourself a boy or girl in the time of Henry VII. and 
tell about the introduction of printing. 



■). 



XX 



HENRY VIII. AND THE SEPARATION 
FROM ROME 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Dates of Henry VIII. 's reign; expectations of scholars; their 

disappointment. 
Territories ruled over by Charles V.; his war with France; how 

England profited by this situation. 
How Wolsey became Henry's chief minister; his position in the 

English Church; his policy; the "Field of the Cloth of Gold." 
Grounds on which Henry sought a divorce from Queen Catherine; 

the Pope refuses to grant it; YVolsey's dismissal and death; 

his last words; Henry divorces Catherine and marries Anne 

Boleyn; the Pope's authority abolished in England; Henry 

takes the title, ''Supreme Head of the Church of England"; 

the Bible translated; the monasteries dissolved; the "Pil- 
grimage of Grace. ' ' 
Origin of "Protestant" teachings; the attitude of Henry VIII. 

toward changes in doctrine; he persecutes both Catholics and 

Protestants; Sir Thomas More executed. 
Henry married six times; two wives divorced, two executed; his 

three children; his character; for what his reign is chiefly to 

be remembered. 

Upon the death of his father, in 1509, Henry VIII. 

became King. He was a handsome youth of eighteen 

years, and was educated in the New Learning, 

Henry vin. as well as skilled in all manner of athletic 

(1509-1546). 

games. Scholars believed that they at last 
had a King after their own heart; but he soon showed 
that the glory of war weighed more with him than the 
New Learning, and that the ruling motive of his life was 
to gratify his own will and his own pleasures. 

Three strong young Kings had begun to rule in western 
Europe within a few years of each other — Henry VIII. 
of England, Francis I. of France, and Charles of Spain. 

172 



THE SEPARATION FROM ROME 



178 



From his grandparents, Ferdinand and Isabella, King 
Charles inherited Spain, Sicily, southern Italy, and 
the vast Spanish possessions in America and Rivalries 



of Henry 
•eceived VIII., Fran- 
cis I., and 
Nether- Charles V. 



the Far East. From his father he 
Holland and Belgium (called the 
lands, or " Low Countries"). Then (in 1519), he was 
chosen Emperor, over both Francis I. and Henry VIII., 
and as Charles V. became the head of Germany also. 

Already France and 
Spain had been at war 
over Italy; and now a 
new war broke out 
between the m , which 
lasted (with some inter- 
ruptions) for forty years. 
Henry VIII., at first, 
sought to take advantage 
of this war to win back 
what he called "our 
inheritance of France." 
But a wiser mind than 
his own soon pointed 
out that it was to Eng- 
land's interest rather to 
maintain a balance of 
power between France 
increase England's power 




HENRY VIII. 



till 



s wav 



and Spain, and in 
among nations. 

The man who gave this advice was Thomas Wolsey. 
He was the son of humble parents, but rose to be the 
first man in England, after the King. At the woisey 

becomes 

age of fifteen he was graduated from the Henry's 

r chief 

university of Oxford; then, becoming a priest, minister. 
he was appointed chaplain to Henry VIII. His energy 



174 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



and attention to business attracted the King's notice. 
When Henry sent him as a messenger to the Emperor, in 
Flanders, Wolsey made the journey and back in four 
days. When he presented himself before the King, 
Henry reproached him with his delay in starting. He 
then learned, to his surprise, that Wolsey had gone and 
returned. He informed Wolsey that he had sent after 
him a courier, with fuller instructions. 

" Sire," replied Wolsey, " I met him on my way back, 
but I had already 
taken it upon my- 
self to fulfill what 
I foresaw would be 
your intentions." 

Such intelligence 
and industry won 
rapid advancement 
for Wolsey, a n d 
soon he was 
Henry's principal 
minister. He was 
made Chancellor 
of the kingdom, 

and Archbishop of wolsfa* 

York; and Henry 

secured from the Pope his appointment as Cardinal 
and the Pope's legate or representative in England. 
Soon all the business of the government passed through 
his hands. He conducted himself with haughtiness, 
and lived in great state. In this way, he made enemies 
of the ancient nobles, who considered him a low-born 
upstart. Not content with the position which he held 
in England, Wolsey planned, with the aid of Henry 
VIII. and the Emperor Charles Y., to secure his own 




THE SEPARATION FROM ROME 175 

election as Pope, and thus win the highest position to 
which man mighi aspire. But the Emperor's promises 

were not sincerely meant, and Wolsey's hopes were 
disappointed. 

Under Wolsey's skilful guidance, England was soon 
raised to a position of great importance. Her alliance 
was eagerly sought by both the King of France He in _ 
and the Emperor. In 1520, a great meeting "Viand's 
took place, in France, between King Henry p° wer - 
and King Francis, at the "Field of the Cloth of Gold." 
Henry VIII. came with 5.000 personal attendants, 
while his Queen brought 1,000. Stately palaces of wood 
were erected for the occasion in the flat meadows; and 
everything was more splendid than had ever before been 
seen. King Francis believed that he had gained his end, 
and that thenceforth England was his ally. But Wolsey 
steadily followed the policy of favoring now one and 
now the other party to the war. and so increased 
England's power and reputation. 

The end of Wolsey's rule is connected with King 
Henry's divorce, which introduced the Reformation into 
England. 

When Henry VIII. became King, he married Catherine 
of Arao-on, his older brother Arthur's young widow. 
This marriage was against the law of the He fails to 
Church, but a " dispensation " was granted by d tJor r ce a for 
the Pope, as head of the Church, which claimed Henf y- 
to remove the difficulty. For many years, little more was 
thought of the matter; but. at last. Henry began to have 
doubts of the power of the Pope to grant such a "dis- 
pensation," and to question whether Catherine was 
really his wife. Perhaps he was influenced, too, by the 
fact that their only living child was a girl (later Queen 
Mary), and that it was doubtful whether a woman would 



176 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 




SCENE FROM A WAR OF HENRY VIII. AGAINST FRANCE 

the Channel near 



The E 



rns-lish are attacking the city of Boulogne on tne « 
Calais. "Notffhe ufe of hand-gun, ; as we ■ 1 as cann 
also the continued use of bows and arrows 



on, hut 



THE SEPARATION FROM ROME 177 

be permitted to succeed him on the English throne. On 
the other hand, it is certain that he had grown tired of 
Catherine, and that lie had shamelessly fallen in love 
with a young: noblewoman of the court, named Anne 
Boleyn. 

If the Pope had been willing to grant Henry a divorce, 
all might have been well. But, in addition to the great 
injustice which would thereby be done to Queen Cath- 
erine, there was the fact that she was the aunt of the 
Emperor Charles V., whom the Pope did not wish to 
offend. So, in spite of long negotiations, the Pope would 
not grant the divorce. 

Then, in furious anger, Henry turned against his 
minister, Wolsey, who for fifteen years had served him 
faithfully and well. Unfortunately for him- 

Wolsey's 

self, Wolsey was "feared by all, but loved by dismissal 

J " , and death. 

few or none at all." Henry VIII. dismissed 
him from his office of Chancellor, and confined him to 
his duties as Archbishop of York; and soon after this 
he had him arrested on a charge of treason. Wolsey 's 
health and spirits were now broken; and he died, while 
on the road to London to be imprisoned in the Tower. 
In his last hours he said: 

" Had I but served my God as faithfully as I have 
served the King, he would not have given me over in my 
old age!" 

Failing to obtain a divorce from the Pope, the King 
obtained one from Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury; 
and soon it was announced that the King had Henry di _ 
married Anne Boleyn. The Pope was thus ^fe^and' 8 
defied. All the ties which bound the English ^ n P d ° p n e s 
Church to Rome were now broken. < 1533 >- 
Appeals to the Pope's courts were forbidden; all pay- 
ments to Rome were stopped; and the Pope's authority 



178 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

in England was abolished. By act of Parliament 

Henry was declared "Supreme Head of the Church of 

England." To deny this title was made an act of treason. 

Parliament also made a series of reforms of practical 

abuses in the Church. The laws which protected 

clergymen who committed crimes (called 

in the "benefit of clergy") were done away with, 

Church. it J- 

and many payments to the clergy were dis- 
continued. Also, the Bible was translated into English, 
and printed copies were placed in the churches. 
To prevent their being carried off, the great heavy 
volumes were chained to the reading desks. In St. 
Paul's church, London, six copies were provided, but 
even this number was not sufficient. The practice 
arose of having some one read aloud from one of the 
Bibles; and "many well-disposed people," we are told, 
"used to resort to the hearing thereof, especially when 
thev could get anyone who had a good voice to read 
to them." 

More important than these changes was the breaking 
up of the monasteries. In spite of the vows of "pov- 
erty" taken by the monks as individuals the 

The mon- J • i i i 1 i 

asteries monasteries had become very wealthy; and 
with wealth had come idleness and moral 
decay. The monasteries were said to be dens of vice 
and evil living; but no doubt the desire to obtain 
monastery lands and goods was a powerful motive in 
the attack. Parliament took the King's word for the 
abuses and ordered first the smaller monasteries, and 
then all of them, to be dissolved, and the monks and 
nuns to be scattered. Their lands and goods were 
turned over to the King. 

Thus one of the greatest features of the mediaeval 
Church was wiped out in England. In the northern part 



THE SEPARATION FROM ROME 179 

of the kingdom, the people rose in rebellion in favor of 
the monks; but their "Pilgrimage of Grace," as it was 
called, was put down with bloody cruelty. The lands of 
the dispossessed monks were largely given to favorites of 
the King. Thus a large part of the nobles and gentry 
of England became financially interested in continuing 
the separation from the Roman Church. 

In Germany and Switzerland, meanwhile, a religious 
Reformation, much deeper than that in England, had 
been growing and spreading. Martin Luther, 
a German monk and university professor, mation in 

a • i 1 ■>? Germany. 

protested against tne sale of indulgences, 
by which it was claimed that the Pope wiped out the 
penalty of sin without real repentance on the part of the 
sinner. The dispute widened, until Luther threw oil" all 
obedience to the Pope, and carried out a reform of the 
German church which touched not only its government, 
but also its doctrine or teaching, and its ritual or worship. 
Unlike that in England, the "Protestant" movement in 
Germany and Switzerland began with the people, not 
the rulers, and was mainly religious, not political, in its 
motives. 

It was not lono- before these Protestant ideas began to 
spread into England also. One who opposed them 
wrote that ' k even the chief est and most weighty matters 
of our religion and faith are called in question, babbled, 
talked, and jangled upon." Although Henry VIII. had 
reformed the government of the Church in England to 
suit his convenience, he would not permit changes to be 
made in its doctrine. Indeed, before he began his divorce 
suit, he wrote so well against Luther that the Pope 
granted him the title, "Defender of the Faith," — a title 
which his successors still bear! 

Accordingly, Henry VIII. now persecuted equally the 



180 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

Catholics who would not go as far as he did, and Protes- 
Henry tants who went farther. His most important 

persecutes . . * 

bothCath- victim, for religion's sake, was Sir Thomas 

olics and 

Protestants.More, a learned and noble-minded English- 
man, who was Henry's Chancellor, after Wolsey's fall. 
As Chancellor, More had put to death Protestants, and 
now it was his turn to suffer death, on a charge of 
treason, for denying that the King was the supreme 
head of the Church of England. His gentle bearing and 
courage on the scaffold aroused the pity and admiration 
of all. As he laid his head on the block, he moved his 
beard aside, saying with sad humor: 

"It is a pity that that should be cut which has 
committed no treason." 

Henry VIII. did not content himself with putting 
to death those who differed from him in relig- 

Six wives — ... . „ 

two di- ion. He was six times married, and two of 

vorced, and . „ . . 

twoexe- his wives were executed. Anne lioleyn bore 

cuted. 

the Kinir one child, the Princess Elizabeth; 
then after a few brief years she lost the King's favor, 
and was put to death on a charge of unfaithfulness. A 
few days later, the King married his third wife, who 
died in little more than a year, after having given to 
Henry his only son — the future Edward VI. Henry's 
fourth wife behaved badly, and she, too, was executed — 
perhaps justly. 

Then Thomas Cromwell, who, after Wolsey and More, 
was the King's chief minister, brought about a marriage 
between Henry VIII. and a Protestant German princess; 
to whom, however, Henry took such a dislike that he 
divorced her at the earliest possible moment. Cromwell 
had been a faithful, though unscrupulous, minister to 
the King; but, for making this unsatisfactory marriage, 
he was now condemned unheard, and sent to the block. 



THE SEPARATION FROM ROME 181 

With equal bloodthirstiness, every possible rival to th? 
throne was put to death; and thus order and peace was 
kept in the land 

In his later years, Henry VIII. became very fat, and 
grew feeble in health. His sixth wife, strange to say, 
outlived him. He died in 1547, after ruling 

& Death of 

for thirty-eight important years. He was a Henry viii. 
strong King, but was wholly selfish and cruel. 
England prospered greatly in his time, both at home and 
abroad. His reign is chiefly to be remembered as the 
time when the old ties were broken which bound the 
English Church to Rome; but it was not until after his 
death that changes were made in the doctrine and wor- 
ship of the Church. 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. What was the connection between the Eenaissance and the 

changes in religious ideas which make the Reformation? 

2. What did Wolsey do for England? 

3. Was the breaking up of the monasteries just or unjust? Was 

it a good or a bad thing for England? Why? 

4. Find out what you can of Sir Thomas More. 

5. Was Henry VIII, a good or a bad man? Why? Was he a 

good or bad King? Why? 

6. Was the Church in England Catholic or Protestant at the time 

of Henry VIII. 's death? Give your reasons. 



xxr 



THE REFORMATION ESTABLISHED 

(1547-1559) 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Dates of Edward VI. 's reign; when he became King; Somerset's 
religions policy; how Englishmen viewed these changes; 
causes of agricultural discontent; Somerset's policy concern 

ing Scotland; its results. 

Somerset's overthrow and death; Northumberland's plans for 

the succession; brief reign of Lady -lane (hey; her fate. 
Dates of Queen Mary's reign; her marriage to Philip IT. of Spain; 

the Catholic religion restored; the Protestants persecuted; 

Archbishop Cranmer burned at the stake; Mary's unhappi- 

ness; her death. 
Reasons why Elizabeth inclined to the Protestant cause; her two 

chief policies for'England; the changes which she made in the 

Church; how these were received; importance of her reign in 

the history of the Church. 

Henry VIII. 's successor was his only son, Edward VI., 

who at the time of his father's death was hut nine years 

Edward °^ ^ n ^ ie Council, which carried on the 

boyKJng government till he should come of age, the 

(1547-1553). TJuke f Somerset, who was the young King's 

uncle, speedily gained control and took the title of 

Protector. He was opposed to harsh government, and 

had many good ideas; but he tried to do everything at 

once, and so did nothing well. 

Under Somerset's rule, Protestant changes were 

rapidly made. Church images were pulled down, pic- 

Protestant t ures of saints and angels were whitewashed 

undef es over, and many of the old customs and holy 

somerset, days were suppressed. The Church service was 

changed from the Catholic " mass-service," in Latin, to 

a Protestant "preaching service," in the English tongud. 

182 



THE REFORMATION ESTABLISHED 188 

Following the example which was set by the German 
and Swiss reformers, the English clergy were permitted 
to marry. 

These changes went further than most Englishmen of 
that day wanted, so there was much discontent on 
religious grounds. Other grievances also existed, of 
another kind. 

The old "common lands," on which each villager had 
the right to pasture his cattle, were being fenced in by 
the lords of the manors; and the old "open 
fields," devoted to the raising of grain, were turai 

i . « • i " • l • l xi discontent. 

giving place to inclosures, in which the 

lords carried on sheep-raising. Since it took fewer 

men to herd sheep than it did to till the soil, many 

men were thus thrown out of work, and the problem 

of the " unemployed " first began to trouble the 

government. 

"Our captain's name is Poverty," said the leader of 
a band of rioters in the reign of Henry VIII., "for he 
and his cousin Necessity hath brought us to this doing." 

Sir Thomas More was one of many who saw the evils 
of these changes. 

"Your sheep," he said, "that used to be so meek and 
tame, and such small eaters, have now become such 
great devourers, and so wild, that they eat up and swallow 
down the very men themselves. They consume, destroy, 
and devour whole fields, houses, and cities." 

As a result, rebellions broke out in England: in the 
West, to restore the religious laws of Henry VIII. ; and 
in the East, chiefly for these agricultural reasons. Both 
movements were put down, but they had the effect of 
seriously weakening Somerset's government. 

Somerset's policy towards Scotland was also unsuc- 
cessful. 



184 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



Henry VIII. 's elder sister had been married to the 

King of the Scots, in the hope of bringing the two 

countries together. But, in 1513, he was 

Scottish defeated and slain in battle, while invading 

P o icy. England. In 1542 his son was likewise 

defeated while attacking England. This King died 

soon afterward, leaving his throne to his five year old 

daughter, Mary 

Stuart. 

This was the 
condition when 
Somerset inter- 
fered in the 
affairs of Scot- 
land. Somerset's 
object was partly 
to aid the Refor- 
mation there, 
and partly to 
marry Edward 
VI. to the young 
Queen of Scot- 
land . In the 
battle of Pinkie, 
the English won 
a great victory 
over the Scots; but it destroyed all hope of carrying 
out the marriage. 

"We mislike not the match," said one of the Scots, 
"but the manner of the w r ooing." 

The little Queen of the Scots was sent over to France, 
where she was reared as a Catholic, and was married to 
the future King of that country. Much trouble came 
to England, in later days, as a result of these events. 




EDWARD VI. 



THE REFORMATION ESTABLISHED 185 

Both t at home and abroad, Somerset's rule was thus a 
failure. The result was that the Council determined to 
remove him. His power passed to his rival, 

-r^T pxti 11 i o <» Somerset 

the Duke or .Northumberland, boon alter displaced 

by Nor- 

this, Somerset was put to death on a charge tnumber- 

' ** & land. 

ot treason. 

Northumberland was an able and ambitious man. As 
a means of keeping his power, and of enriching himself 
and friends, he favored the Protestants and continued 
the work of the Reformation. But he cared little for 
religion, and at the end of his life he claimed that he had 
been a Catholic all the time. 

The young King had now become a lad of fifteen 
years, and was more than usually bright and well 
educated. But unfortunately he fell into a 

Fatal 

sickness, and it soon became evident that he illness of 

Edward VI. 

would never live to take the rule into his own 
hands. The next heir to the throne was his half-sister, 
Mary, the daughter of Catherine of Aragon. Northum- 
berland, however, plotted to exclude her, and to raise 
Lady Jane Grey to the throne. Lady Jane was the 
granddaughter of Henry VIII.'s younger sister, and 
had been married to Northumberland's son, Lord 
(iuilford Dudley. 

Lady Jane was a beautiful, noble-minded girl of 
sixteen. She had applied herself so well to her studies 
that she knew Latin, Greek, French, and Lady Jane 
Italian. She was persuaded bv Northumber- "ten-day 

Queen" 

land that it was her duty to take the throne. (1553). 
So, when Edward VI. died, in 1553, she permitted 
Northumberland to proclaim her Queen. As the procla- 
mation was being read, an apprentice lad bravely cried 
out: "The Lady Mary has the better title!" 

This, indeed, was the general opinion of the nation. 



186 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



Mary escaped those who were sent to seize her, and 
soon her party was so strong that Northumberland was 
obliged to submit. Lady Jane Grey's reign lasted only 
ten days. 

Queen Mary caused the wicked Duke of Northumber- 
land to be executed. For some months she allowed Lady 
Jane and her young husband to live quietly in honor- 
able captivity. But when rebellions broke out against 
Mary's rule, as they soon did, Lady Jane and her hus- 
band, with many other 
political prisoner s, 
were promptly put to 
death 

At the beginning of 
her reign. Queen 
Mary was 
one of the 



Reign of 

Queen 

Mary 

(1553-1558). t 



pop- 
that 




LADY JANE GREY 



u 1 a r rulers 
England ever had. At 
the end of it she was 
one of the most hated. 
This change in the 
feelings of her sub- 
jects was mainly due to two causes — her marriage 
to a foreigner, and her persecution of Protestants. 

Her mother's unjust divorce, and her own inclinations, 

made Queen Mary a zealous Catholic. This led her to 

Her mar- accept eagerly the proposal that she should 

Phi^ii. marry Philip II. of Spain, who succeeded his 

of Spain! father, Charles V., as head of the Catholics of 

Europe. Englishmen disliked this marriage, partly 

because they were foolishly jealous of all foreigners, but 

still more because thev feared that it would cause them 



THE REFORMATION ESTABLISHED 187 

to lose the advantages of their island position, and to 
take an active part in the wars between France and 
Spain. Nevertheless, the marriage took place. 

As soon as she could do so, Mary caused the religious 
laws of her brother's and father's reigns to be repealed. 
The Catholic religion and the authoritv of the 

° • Catholic 

Pope were thus restored, and a few monas- religion 

• t» -mr p restored. 

tenes were refounded. But Mary found it 
necessary to leave most of the monastery lands, and 
other goods of the Church, in the hands of those who 
possessed them. The laws for punishing heretics were 
also revived, and many Protestants suffered death for 
their religion, as Catholics had done in the reign of 
Henry VIII. 

The most noted victim of this persecution was Arch- 
bishop Cranmer of Canterbury. He had granted Henry 
VIII. his divorce from Catherine of Aragon, 

Archbishop 

and had been the leader of the Protestant Cranmer 

burned. 

party under Edward VI. In hope of saving 
his life, Cranmer for a time " recanted," and said that all 
that he had taught contrary to the Roman Catholic 
church was false, and that only in that church was there 
any hope of salvation. Catholics wished to weaken the 
Reformation by having him repeat this recantation when 
he was led to the stake. But when Cranmer saw that his 
submission would not save his life, he regained his 
courage. 

" Forasmuch as my hand offended in writing contrary 
to my heart," he cried, "it shall be first burned." 

And, true to his word, when the fire was kindled about 
him, he thrust his right hand into the flames. In spite of 
his wavering, he made a good end, and the bravery with 
which he and many others met their deaths strength- 
ened the Protestant cause. 



188 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



Queen Mary was bitterly disappointed because she 

had no children. Her husband, too, who was much 

younger than she, neglected her, and spent 

Further J s & * 

persecu- most of the time away from England. 



A mortal 
her . 



illness, moreover, soon seized 



u p o n 

As her mis- 
fortunes i n - 
creased, the 
poor Queen's 
half -crazed 
mind sought 
to please God 
by sending 
m ore a n d 
more Protes- 
tants to the 
stake. The 
number of 
those who suf- 
fered death in 
the five years 
of her reign 
has bee n 
reckoned a t 
a 1) o u t L 2 7 . 
T he result 
was a wave of 
h o r r o r and 
disgust which 
swept over 
E n g 1 and . 

and greatly aided the final triumph of the Protestant 
cause. 




QUEEN MARY 



THE REFORMATION ESTABLISHED 189 

To complete Mary's unpopularity, the assistance 
which she gave her husband in his wars with France led 
to the loss of Calais, which had been England's Mary » s un _ 
outpost across the Channel since the days of anS P death 
Edward III. Its loss was no real injury to < 1558 )- 
England, but it was the last blow needed to complete her 
unhappiness. She died nine months later — one of the 
saddest figures which that age of conflict could show. 

Her half-sister, Elizabeth (Anne Bolevn's daughter), 
now came to the throne, and began a glorious reign of 
forty-five years. 

Elizabeth at this time was twenty-five years old. She 
spoke several languages well, and could read Latin and 
Greek. She had a strong will, and had Beginning 
learned self-control. From her training, and i^S's* 
because her right to the throne depended on rei ^ n - 
the legality of Anne Bolevn's marriage to Henry VIII., 
Elizabeth was inclined to the Protestant cause. Her 
policy had two objects in view for England. One was to 
keep the country from war; and the other was to establish 
a united national Church, free from all foreign control. 

In carrying out these policies, Elizabeth's chief adviser 
was William Cecil, whom she made Lord Burleigh. 
When she chose him as her Secretary of State, she said: 
"This judgment I have of you, that you will not be 
corrupted with any manner of gifts, and that you will be 
faithful to the state." Her choice was justified by the 
thirty years of faithful service which he gave. 

Elizabeth caused Parliament to repeal the religious 
laws of Queen Mary, and to establish a moderate 
reformation of the English Church. An The Refor . 
Act of Supremacy was passed which denied ^abiushed 
the Pope's control over the Church. It re- ( 1559 >- 
quired all officers to take an oath acknowledging the 



190 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

Queen as " the only supreme governor of this realm 
as well in all ecclesiastical things or causes as temporal." 
The Latin mass-service in the Church was again 
abolished, and the service in English, as arranged in 
the time of Edward VI. . was restored. It was pub- 
lished in the Prayer Book, which is still used in the 
Episcopal Church. Clergymen who refused to use the 
Prayer Book, and laymen who stayed away from church 
services where it was used, were severely punished. 
Finally, the beliefs of the English church were settled 
in accordance with Protestant views, and were pub- 
lished in the Thirty-Nine Articles, which are still the 
official belief of the English or Episcopal Church. 

All but one of the bishops refused to accept these 
changes, and new bishops were appointed in their places. 
Almost all of the lower clergy, however, accepted the 
changes, with as little opposition as they had made when 
Mary restored the Catholic religion, five years before. 
The nobles and people generally received the changes 
with rejoicing. 

Here, as in other matters. Queen Elizabeth seemed to 

know just how far her people were willing to go. and 

r .. ^ ^ shaped her laws to meet the general wishes of 

Elizabeth r & 

a tactful the nation. This was one of her strong points 

despot. _ ~ r 

as a ruler, as it had been of her father, Henry 
VIII. —with all of his self-will and tyranny. The Tudor 
rulers were despots, and their Parliaments were usually 
packed with persons named by them. But their despot- 
ism rested upon the consent of the people, and, in any 
important matter, they rarely went bevond what their 
people wished. 

With these religious laws of Elizabeth, the Reforma- 
tion period in England comes to an end. There were 
still unsettled questions relating to the Church, and both 



THE REFORMATION ESTABLISHED 191 

Elizabeth and her successors had much difficulty in 
dealing with those who wished to restore the Catholic 
religion, and with Protestants who wished to depart 
farther from Catholicism. But these efforts, in the 
end. were unsuccessful, and the religion of the Church 
of England is today very much as it was established at 
the beginning of the reign of "good Queen Bess." 



TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Were the changes in agriculture good or bad for England in 

the end? Why.' 

2. Compare Somerset with Wolsey. Compare Northumberland 

and Somerset. 

3. Find out what you can of Lady Jane Grey. 

-4. What was the character of Queen Mary.' Why did she perse- 
cute Protestants. 

5. Make a list of the changes in religion in England from the 
time when Henry VI II. became King to the time when the 
Reformation was finally established. 



XXII 
ENGLAND UNDER ELIZABETH 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Dates of Elizabeth's reign; why she feared Mary Stuart; attitude 
of France and Spain; the Reformation in Scotland; Mary's 
fall into the hands of Elizabeth; the ll Casket Letters"; 
Elizabeth keeps Mary prisoner; Mary put to death. 

Causes of the conflicts between England and Spain; Sir Francis 
Drake; Philip proposes the "Armada"; Drake delays its 
sailing; it sets forth; running fight in the Channel; defeat 
of the Armada; its effects. 

Rise of the Puritans; difference between the "Separatists" and 
other Puritans; Elizabeth's policy towards the Puritans; 
towards Catholics; attitude of the Puritans toward Elizabeth. 

The great writers of Elizabeth's time; William Shakespeare. 

Why Elizabeth never married; means for the succession; Eliza- 
beth's death; her character. 

Queen Elizabeth's reign is notable, not only for the 
establishing of the Reformation in England, but for other 
events which made a deep impression on the 



Reign of 
Elizabeth 

(1558-1603), 



Elizabeth minds of the people. These were the exe- 

1558-1603). ___ r „ r 



cution of Mary Queen of Scots, and the defeat 
of the great Spanish fleet, called the Armada. In order 
to understand these two events, we must understand the 
dangers by which Elizabeth was all her life surrounded, 
from foes abroad, and from hostile parties at home. 

Perhaps you may ask : " Why was it that Philip II. 
of Spain did not interfere in England, while it was under 
Elizabeth, to protect the Catholics, and to put down 
the Protestant religion ? " 

The answer is that he was so jealous of France that 
he preferred to see England become Protestant rather 
than see it Catholic under France. 

192 



ENGLAND UNDER ELIZABETH 



193 



Mary Stuart, Queen of the Scots (as you will remem- 
ber), had been married to the son of the French King; 
so, when he became King in turn (as he did Mary 

i t-<i- 1 i V\ /» Stuart's 

the vear atter Elizabeth became Queen ot claim to 

-rt i i\ i i • -n i tne En ^l'sh 

England), the two kingdoms ot France and throne. 

Scotland were united under French rule. Queen Mary 

claimed to be 
the rightful ruler 
of England, also, 
on the ground 
that Elizabeth's 
father and 
mother were 
not truly mar- 
ried, and so the 
throne should 
go to herself as 
the nearest law- 
ful heir. 

It was this 
claim that Philip 

-*■ *■ • France 

ieaieci Spain 
to see °PP° ses - 
established, for 
it would make 
France so pow- 
erful that Spain 
would be com- 
pletely overshadowed. He took Elizabeth under his 
protection, and even proposed to marry her, though to 
this Elizabeth could not consent. Mary's French hus- 
band soon died, and she returned to Scotland as a 
young widow of nineteen. But Philip II. could still be 




QUEEN ELIZABETH 

Note the elaborate costume and many jewels 

Compare this with the simpler dress 

of Queen Mary 



194 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

counted upon to aid Elizabeth in cheeking any move- 
ment to enforce Mary's claim to the throne of Ens- 
land, because Queen Mary leaned on French support. 

All this made Elizabeth the enemy of the Queen of 
Scots. In addition, Elizabeth was foolishly jealous of 
her, because Mary was younger and more lovely than 
Elizabeth. But it was Mary's own imprudence and 
misconduct that finally put her completely in Elizabeth's 
power. 

Scotland was now in the midst of a Reformation of the 

church which was more thoroughly Protestant than that 

which had taken place in England. Its teach- 

The Refor- . * & 

mation ings came from John Calvin, a religious 

in Scotland. & ' & 

reformer of Geneva, in Switzerland. The 
Church government there became more democratic than 
that which was established in England, for it put the 
chief power in the hands of "presbyters," or elders, 
instead of bishops. The chief preacher of this "Presby- 
terian" reform in Scotland was John Knox, a bold but 
harsh preacher, of whom it was said that "one mass- 
service was more fearful to him than ten thousand 
armed enemies." 

In order to strengthen her position on the throne. 
Queen Mary married her worthless cousin, Lord Darnley, 
Mary who was a Catholic. This act offended 

flees 3 to Protestant lords. A son was born to Mary; 
England, nevertheless she and her husband bitterly 
quarreled. The Protestant lords formed a plot to get 
rid of Darnley, and one night the house in which he was 
recovering from a spell of sickness was blown up. The 
next morning his dead body was found in a near-by 
field — strangled. A fierce, bullying lord, named Both- 
well, was chiefly responsible for the murder; but he was 
so powerful that the attempt to punish him was given up. 



ENGLAND UNDER ELIZABETH 195 

Mary was passionately in love with Bothwell, and, ten 
weeks after the murder of her husband, she allowed 
herself to be carried off and married to him. Her subjects 
then rebelled, drove Bothwell from the kingdom, made 
her infant son Kino" as James VI. , and shut her up in 
prison. Soon, however, Mary contrived to escape, 
through the aid of a young page, and to raise an army. 
When she was finally defeated in battle, she fled into 
England, to ask aid from her enemv, Elizabeth, in 
recovering her forfeited throne. 




GOLD COIN OF ELIZABETH 

Shows head of the Queen on one side, and on the other the 

arms of England (three lions) "quartered*' with the 

lilies (fleurs-de-lis) of France 

Elizabeth did not wish to encourage rebels to revolt 
against their ruler, but she could not let Mary go. As 
one of her courtiers said, she now "held the 

Elizabeth 

wolf that wished to devour her." "Why detains 

l * ier there. 

does the Queen of Scotland seem so danger- 
ous to you?" one of Mary's friends asked Elizabeth. 

" Because she is a Papist," the English Queen replied, 
" and wishes to succeed to my throne." 

The Scots sent to Elizabeth letters which they claimed 
had been left by Bothwell, in a silver casket, when he 
fled. If these "Casket Letters" were genuine, they 
prpved that Mary had had a part in Darnley's death. 



196 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

and so was guilty with Bothwell of his murder. Without 

deciding this question, Elizabeth ordered Mary to be 

kept prisoner, and from that day until her death on the 

scaffold, eighteen years later, the Queen of Scots 

remained in honorable confinement in Elizabeth's castles. 

Many Englishmen did not think that this was enough. 

So long as Mary lived, conspirators were at work trying 

Mary to stir up a rebellion, which would dethrone 

f^? n r s V lots Elizabeth—and possibly murder her— and 

Elizabeth. g- ye jj^ crown t () Mary. Mary knew of some 

of these plots, and encouraged them. At one time she 
sent this message to the Spanish ambassador in England: 

"Tell your master that if he will help me, I shall be 
Queen of England in three months, and mass shall be 
said throughout the land." 

To aid Mary's cause, the Tope excommunicated 
Elizabeth, and declared her subjects to be freed from 
their oaths of allegiance. This forced English 



Catholics 



dethrone Catholics to choose between obedience to their 
Elizabeth. Church and their duty to their Queen. France 
and Spain had now made up their quarrel, and were 
ready to aid in restoring England to the list of Catholic 
countries. Catholic priests came into England from 
France, at the peril of their lives, to convert the people; 
and some of these were engaged in the conspiracies 
against Elizabeth. After the failure of one of these plots 
the Protestant nobles of England formed a great " associa- 
tion," binding themselves to avenge any attempt against 
the life of their Queen. Soon after this, Parliament 
passed a law providing that any one in whose favor a 
plot should be made should be put to death. This law 
was directed against Mary of Scotland; nevertheless, her 
friends paid no attention to the warning, and the plotting 
continued. 



ENGLAND UNDER ELIZABETH 197 

Positive proof of a new plot was soon obtained, and 
then at last Mary herself was brought to trial. It was not 
clearly proved that she had given any eneour- Mary 
agement to the attempts against the Queen's ?<J death ut 
life, yet she had taken part in the conspiracy C 1587 )- 
to dethrone the Queen. The law considered her guilty, 
and she was sentenced to death. After much hesitation, 
Elizabeth signed the death warrant, and Mary was 
beheaded, in February. 1587. She went to her execution 
with the courage of a martyr. 

"Cease to lament," said she to one of her attendants, 
"for you shall now see a final end to Mary Stuart's 
troubles. I pray you, take this message when you go— - 
that I die true to my religion, to Scotland, and to France." 

Many English Catholics had supported Mary Stuart's 
claims to the English throne. But when she passed these 
on to Philip II. of Spain (as she did at her 

r r . . English 

death), all Englishmen united to oppose him. conflicts 
Spain at this time ruled Mexico, the West 
Indies, and the greater part of South America, and 
claimed the sole right to settle and trade in those 
regions. This claim the English sailors had refused 
to recognize. They crossed the Atlantic, traded 
wherever they liked, and fought and captured Spanish 
treasure ships. Many of them were little better than 
pirates, and grew rich by kidnapping slaves in Africa 
and selling them to the Spanish colonists. 

The greatest of these English captains was Sir 
Francis Drake. On one of his expeditions to the West 
Indies, he visited the mainland of North 
America, where he found and rescued a small sir Francis 
body of English colonists, who had been sent 
out by Sir Walter Raleigh. On another voyage, he 
rounded Cape Horn, and attacked the Spanish colonies 



198 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

on the west coast of South America, where he secured 
an immense amount of gold, silver, and precious stones. 
In returning to England, he sailed across the Pacific and 
around the Cape of Good Hope. A Spanish expedition 
under Magellan had sailed around the world sixty years 
before; but Drake, in this voyage, was the first English- 
man to accomplish that feat. By such acts as his, 
the hatred between the Spanish and English was 
steadily increased. 



DRAKE'S SHIP, THE GOLDEN HIND 

When, therefore, Philip of Spain made ready to seize 

the crown of England, and re-establish there the Catholic 

religion, all England was aroused. Philip 

to conquer collected a great fleet, which was called the 

" Invincible Armada." With this, he intended 

to send a great army into England, partly from Spain and 

partly from the Netherlands. Before the expedition was 

ready, Sir Francis Drake, with thirty small ships, sailed 



ENGLAND UNDER ELIZABETH 199 

boldly into the Spanish harbor of Cadiz, and destroyed 
the ships and supplies there. Drake called this " singeing 
the Spanish King's beard." By this brave deed, the 
sailing of the Armada was delayed until the next year. 

To resist the Spanish attack, the English collected 
ships from all their coast towns, and mustered an army 
near London. When the Spanish fleet appeared in the 
English Channel, the news was flashed by bonfires, 
from hilltop to hilltop, all over the kingdom. The 
Armada consisted of 132 vessels, many of them great 
high-decked ships, crowded with men. Some were 
galleys rowed by oars, such as had been used in the 
Mediterranean Sea since the ancient days of Greece and 
Rome. The English fleet, under Lord Howard and Sir 
Francis Drake, numbered 198 vessels, most of them 
smaller than in the Armada, but swifter, better sailers, 
and manned by more skilful seamen and better gunners. 

The English allowed the Armada to pass by, and then 
followed it up the Channel. For a whole week, from 
Plymouth to Calais, the English hung upon Defeatof 
the rear of the Spaniards, now advancing, Jornada* 1 
now nimbly retiring, but always fighting, and (1588 >- 
" plucking the feathers" of the great Armada one by one. 
The Armada dropped anchor at Calais, to get news of 
the army which they were to escort from the Netherlands 
to England. The English, however, sent into the harbor 
six blazing fire-ships, which they had prepared, and the 
Spaniards were forced to cut their cables and put out to 
sea. After another all-day fight, the Spaniards turned 
northward, sailing before a southerly breeze. They 
failed to take on the army to invade England, and already 
the expedition was a failure. 

Worse, however, was to follow. Storms came, and 
scores of the clumsy Spanish vessels were dashed to 



200 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

pieces, while trying to round the northern coasts of 
Scotland and Ireland. Out of the splendid fleet which 
set sail with such confidence, only fifty-three vessels 
returned to Spain. Philip II. did not blame his admiral 
for this disaster. " I sent you to fight against men," 
said he, "and not with the winds." 

The defeat of the Armada freed the English from their 
fear of Spain. It did more. The whole nation now 
shared the spirit of men like Drake, and the foundations 
were soon laid of the trade, colonial empire, and sea 
power which make England "the mistress of the seas." 
The power of Spain now rapidly declined. 

Toward the close of Elizabeth's reign, the religious 
question again came to the front. The trouble was no 
longer with the Catholics, but with the extreme 



Rise of the 



- 



Puritans Protestants, who wanted to go further in 
' reform. They were not satisfied with the 
moderate Protestant position which Elizabeth had taken, 
but wished to do away with nearly everything used by 
the Catholic church in its worship — priestly robes, 
images, painted windows, incense, candles, and the like. 
They also wished to end the rule of the bishops in the 
Church. They were called "Puritans," because they 
wished to purify the Church. Some Puritans even 
wished to do away with any united church, established 
for the whole country, and to form separate congrega- 
tions, each independent of the others. These are called 
"Separatists," or "Independents." 

Elizabeth was as despotic as her father, and would not 

permit anything which looked like disobedience to the 

laws which she had established. Puritans 

Elizabeth - , ., „ . £ 

persecutes were nned heavily tor staying away trom 

church, and when they attempted to hold 

meetings of their own, these were severely put down. 



ENGLAND UNDER ELIZABETH 



201 



Thus Elizabeth persecuted Puritans on the one hand, 
while, on the other. Catholics were being fined, impris- 
oned, and even put to death. There was this difference, 
however: in the earlier part of her reign Catholics were 
often plotting for her downfall; but the spirit among the 
Puritans was shown by one of their number, who was 
condemned to lose his right hand for writing against the 
bishops, and who nevertheless, waving his hat with the 
hand that was left to him, cried, "God save the Queen." 




STATE CARRIAGES OF ELIZABETHS TIME 



We must not close the account of the reign of Elizabeth 
without a few words concerning the great writers which 
it produced. In no other reign did literature 
flourish as it did under "good Queen Bess.'' under u 
Poets, playwriters, and essayists abounded; 
while, in the person of Sir Erancis Bacon. England could 
boast one of the greatest of philosophers. 

Among all the writers of the Elizabethan era, William 
Shakespeare stands first. He was born of poor parents, 
at Stratford on the river Avon, in the year 
1564. He received a grammar school educa- snake- 
tion, and went to London, where he became 
an actor and writer of plays. He died in 1616. He was 
the greatest play writer of modern times, and one of 
the greatest of poets. His plays have been translated 



202 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

into many languages. They are still acted many times 
every year, and the books containing them are found in 
all libraries. His plays include both comedies and 
tragedies; they picture all kinds of life, and show men 
and women acting under all kinds of emotions. Sayings 
taken from his plays are almost as common today as 
those from the Bible. 

Queen Elizabeth did not live to see all of Shakespeare's 
plays, for when he was at his best she was already old. 
To the end of her life, she remained England's 
never "Virgin Queen." She had many suitors for 

her hand, and it gratified her vanity to have 
them about her; but she could marry neither foreigner 
nor Englishman, neither Catholic nor Protestant, 
without offending some of her subjects. Any marriage, 
moreover, would endanger the exercise of that indepen- 
dent power which was so dear to Elizabeth's heart. So, 
in the end, she never married at all. although she long- 
talked about it, and was urged again and again by her 
subjects to do so, in order that the succession to the 
throne might be settled. 

The character of Elizabeth was a mixture of great and 

little qualities. She was so vain and extravagant that 

Her char- sne na d 3,000 gowns of strange fashion, and 

deSh and eighty wigs of different colored hair. She 

(1603). used to paint her face to hide the marks of age. 

She was not truthful, and her conduct in many ways 

revealed the coarseness of her time. On the other hand, 

she had the wisdom to chose good advisers; and however 

vain and selfish she might seem, she always had the 

interests of England at heart. 

" There will never Queen sit in my seat," she once 
said to Parliament, "with more zeal to my country, or 
care to my subjects. And though you have had, and may 



ENGLAND UNDER ELIZABETH 203 

have, many princes more mighty and more wise sitting 
in this scat, yet you never had. nor shall have, any that 
will be more careful or loving." 

She saw England grow from a divided to a united 
nation, and from a weak to a great state: and in this 
growth she had the chief part. 

She died at the age of seventy. When asked at the last 
to settle the succession to the throne, she said: 

"I will have no rascal's son in my seat, but one w< rthv 
to be a King." 

Ami when further pressed to declare her wishes, she 
added: 

"And who should this he, hut our cousin of Scotland." 

So Mary Stuart's son, who was a Protestant, and was 
known as James VI. of Scotland, succeeded at last to the 
throne of the great Elizabeth. 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. What was the relationship in blood <>i' Elizabeth and Mary 

smart.' Why did Catholics believe that Mary's right to 
the English throne was better than Elizabeth's. 

2. Did Elizabeth do right in imprisoning Mary < l )u<mmi of Scots.' 

Did she do right in putting her to death! Give your reasons. 
."». Imagine yourself a boy ot girl at the time of the Armada, and 

write an account of its defeat. 
4. Find out what you can about Sir Francis Drake. 
.">. Write a short account of William Shakespeare. 
6. In what ways was Elizabeth a great ruler .' 



XXIII 
JAMES L, THE FIRST STUART KING 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Character of the Stuart rule; dates of James I. 's reign; his 

character; relations of England and Scotland; James's 

attitude toward the English Puritans. 
Virginia and Plymouth colonies settled in America; other English 

settlements under Charles I.; importance of these settlements; 

Sir Walter Ealeigh; he was imprisoned; why he was; the 

' ' Gunpowder Plot. ' ' 
James's ideas of the power of Kings; he quarrels with Parliament 

over its privileges; declaration of Parliament; how James 

treated this; James's other. quarrels with Parliament; failure 

of James's policies. 

Under the Tudor rulers, the English people submitted 

to arbitrary rule because great dangers threatened both 

church and state. In the time of the Stuart 

Character 

of the Kings, these dangers were past. I he attempt 

Stuart rule. , . 

of the Stuarts to rule despotically led, there- 
fore, to a series of quarrels between King and Parliament 
which resulted in civil war, the execution of one King, 
the expulsion of another, and the final loss by the Stuarts 
of the crowns of both England and Scotland. 

In England, Mary Stuart's son was known as James L, 
though he continued to be James VI. of Scotland. He 

was well educated, shrewd, witty, and a lover 
James i. of peace; but he lacked dignity, was physically 

a coward, and could never say "No" to his 
favorites. A foreigner at his court, in Scotland, gave 
this description of him: 

" He speaks, eats, dresses, and plays like a boor. He 
is never still for a moment, but walks perpetually up and 
down the room. His walk is sprawling and awkward, 



THE FIRST STUART KING 



205 



and his voice loud. He prefers hunting to all other 

amusements, and will he six hours together on horseback. 

He is very conceited, and he underrates other princes." 

His great learning, together with his foolish conduct, 

led a French statesman 
to call him " the wisest 
fool in Christendom." 

One of James's first 
acts was to trv to unite 




the two king- 



d o m s 
England 



England's 
relations 
with 
and Scotland. 



of 



Scotland into one. Eng- 
lishmen, however, were 
jealous both of the 
favors which James 
showed to his Scotch 
subjects and of their 
trading rights. The 
attempt failed, and it 
was not until a hundred 
years later (1707) that 
England and Scotland 
were united under one 
Parliament. 

The religious question 
gave James I. most trouble. English Puritans expected 
James to support them, because he came . 

rr James op- 

from a Presbyterian country. But James poses the 

Puritans. 

was so greatly displeased with Presby- 
terianism in Scotland that, when one of the English 
Puritans mentioned the word "presbyter," he burst 
out : 

" If this be all your party have to say for themselves, I 



JAMES I. 

Notice the ruff about the neck, which 

was then worn by both men 

and women 



206 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

will make them conform to the Church, or I will harry 
them out of the land." 

By this attitude James pleased the bishops, but made 
all Puritans his opponents. 

Some small bands of Separatists took the King at 

his word, and left England for Holland. After a few 

years (1620) they passed to America, and 

colonies founded Plymouth Colony. Virginia also, 

founded *L . * ' ' . 

was founded in King James s time (1607), 
but this was from motives of gain, not of religion. Under 
James's son, Charles I., the colonies of Massachusetts, 
New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Mary- 
land were founded. 

We cannot tell the story here of these first beginnings 
of a new world of English-speaking peoples across the 
sea; but we must not forget that it was one of the 
greatest events of that time. 

Catholics, too, had hoped that King James would 

relieve them from the oppressive laws which Elizabeth 

had made against their religion. When this 

Sir Walter i • • i , pi 

Raleigh hope was disappointed, plots were tormed 

executed. 

against the King. Sir Walter Raleigh — a 
famous man of Elizabeth's reign, who was no Catholic, 
but was disappointed at not being taken into James's 
service — was accused and convicted of being engaged in 
one of these plots, and for thirteen years he was imprisoned 
in the Tower of London. Then he was allowed to set 
forth on a gold hunting expedition to South America. 
When he failed in his quest, and attacked the Spaniards, 
King James had him put to death under his old sentence. 
Before laying his head upon the block, he felt the edge 
of the axe: 

: 'Tis a sharp medicine," he said, " but a sure cure for 
all diseases." 



THE FIRST STUART KING 



207 




A more important plot, due to Catholic discontent, 
was formed by a man named Guy Fawkes. With some 
others, he succeeded in storing thirty barrels CathoUc 
of gunpowder in a cellar under the Parliament £°y Under 
house; and he planned to blow up King, Fawkes - 

Lords, Commons, 
ministers, and all, at 
the opening of Parli- 
ament. The plot, how- 
ever, was discovered, 
and Guy Fawkes and 
his helpers were ex- 
ecuted. The memory 
of the event was long 
preserved by the 
annual celebration of 
"Guy Fawkes day," 
when stuffed figures 
of Fawkes (whence comes our slang word "guy") 
were burned. Until recent years, school children in 
England learned these verses: 

" Remember, remember, the Fifth of November, 
Gunpowder treason and plot; 
I see no reason why Gunpowder treason 
Should ever be forgot!" 

King James had very lofty ideas of the powers of a 
King, and said some very foolish things about them. He 
believed in the "divine right" of Kings — 
that is, that they received their powers from hoTds^di- 
God, and are responsible to Him alone, and Jf^inf^ 1 
not in any way to their subjects. 

But, unfortunately for James, he had even more need 
of the good will of Parliament than Elizabeth had. He 
squandered his revenues so recklessly, on his pleasures 



GUY FAWKES' S CELLAR 

Where the powder was stored under the 

Houses of Parliament 



208 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

and favorites, that he was constantly in need of new 
taxes. Parliament, however, showed itself firmly resolved 
not to vote him money until the grievances of which they 
complained should be removed. From this, and other 
causes, it resulted that James quarreled with every 
Parliament that he summoned, except his last one. 

James took the position that Parliament owed all its 
powers and privileges — such as the right of free speech, 
Quarrels an( l freedom from arrest for what might be 
ment over^s^o! in Parliament — entirely to the gracious- 
privileges. ness Q f the King He f or bade them "to 

meddle with anything concerning our government or 
deep matters of state." Their business, in short, was 
merely to vote him the money he needed. 

Parliament, on the other hand, asserted, in a famous 
declaration which they caused to be written in their 
journal, that "the liberties, privileges, and jurisdictions 
of Parliament are the undoubted birthright and inheri- 
tance of the subjects of England," and that they had a 
right to debate all matters which concerned them as 
subjects. 

James thereupon dismissed his Parliament, and with 
his own hands tore this declaration from their journal. 
It was easy to tear out the record; but it was difficult to 
move the people from what they believed to be their 
constitutional rights. Besides quarreling over Puritanism, 
taxes, and privileges, James and his Parliament held 
different views concerning foreign affairs. 

From 1618 to 1648, Germany was wasted by a terrible 

religious war, between Catholics and Protestants, called 

the Thirtv Years' War. England was in- 

Ouarrels ; . ° 

over foreign terested in this, not only because England 

affairs. J i • i 

was a Protestant country, and so sympathized 
with the Protestant cause, but also because Kin<^ James's 



THE FIRST STUART KING 209 

daughter Elizabeth had married a German Protestant 
prince, who lost his lands in the course of the war. King 
James wanted to aid his son-in-law to recover his lands, 
but thought the best way to do this was by making a 
treaty with Spain, which was aiding the Catholic powers. 
So, long negotiations were carried on for the marriage of 
his son, Prince Charles, to a Spanish princess. Parlia- 
ment, on the other hand, bitterly hated the idea of a 
Spanish marriage, and wanted to strike a vigorous blow 
at Spain through a naval war. This would not only 
help their fellow Protestants in Germany, but at the 
same time win for themselves rich prizes, and further 
their trading and colonizing ambitions. 

In the end, James found that his plans for a Spanish 
alliance were impossible. He broke off negotiations, 
and in his last Parliament, which assembled „ 

Failure of 

in 1624, he invited that very "meddling" with James's 

policy. 

foreign affairs which he had formerly for- 
bidden. War was then declared against Spain. For the 
first time, since the early days of his reign, King James 
and his subjects were in harmony. 

James died the next year. He left to his son the 
difficulty of dealing with the many problems which he 
had raised by his weakness and folly, but had not known 
how to solve. 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Why were there more quarrels between the Crown and Parlia- 

ment under James than under Elizabeth? Was it due more 
to changes in the character of the ruler? or in the character 
of the Parliaments? or in the circumstances of the time? 

2. Find out what you can of Sir "Walter Raleigh, and his attempt 

to make a settlement in America under Elizabeth. 

3. Tell the story of John Smith and the settlement of the colony 

of Virginia. 

4. Tell the story of the removal of the Pilgrim Fathers to Hol- 

land, and of their settlement of Plymouth Colony. 



XXIV 
CHARLES I. AND PARLIAMENT 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Dates of the reign of Charles I.; his character; influence of the 
Duke of Buckingham; Parliament attacks him; the Petition 
of Right passed; its importance; death of Buckingham; 
Charles 's third Parliament. 

Eleven years of absolute government; Sir John Eliot dies in the 
Towerj the Ship Money Tax; John Hampden resists it; the 
judges decide in favor of the King; importance of this case. 

Archbishop makes changes in the English Church; punishment of 
persons who opposed these changes; origin of " Bishops' 
Wars" in Scotland; their effect in England. 

The Long Parliament called; why Charles could not get rid of it; 
the three things it set out to do; punishment of the Earl of 
Strafford; Charles attempts to avoid the leaders of Parlia- 
ment; effect of this attempt; the two questions which espe- 
cially separated Charles from his Parliament; importance of 
the militia question; what the vote of the Grand Eemon- 
strance showed; the question really at issue in the civil war. 

Charles I. was a good man, and was much more 

"kingly" in his manner than James I.; but he held 

Character as high ideas of his rights, and was far more 

i f S?25- les impractical. He was less inclined to give way 

1649). j. Q Parliament, especially where the rights of 

the Church were concerned; and there was also an 

unintentional untruthfulness in him, which made it 

impossible to bind him to any promise. The result 

was that he was even less successful than his father 

in dealing with the problems of his time. 

King; James's last and greatest favorite, the Duke of 

Buckingham, was equally in favor with King Charles. 

influence He had risen from a very humble position, 

Bu?king" f solely through his handsome face and good 

ham. manners. He was now in the highest ranks 

of the English nobility, and had an income of thousands 

210 



CHARLES I. AND PARLIAMENT 



211 



of pounds sterling a year. All of his family — father, 
mother, brothers, sisters — had also been enriched and 
ennobled. 

Until Buckingham's death (in 1628) the government 

was entirely in his hands. But 
the war wi t h Spain fared 
badly, and men thought with 
regret of the glorious vic- 
tories of Elizabeth. Buck- 
ingham hurried England into 
a war with France, also, and 
this, too, Avas mismanaged. 
Illegal taxes were collected, 
and men who refused to pay 
were illegally punished. In 
addition, favor was shown to 
an anti-Puritan party, which 
now began to rise in the 
Church of England. 

For all this, Buckingham 
was rightly held responsible, 
and finally he was The p et ition 
named in Parlia- <? s f *^ d 
nient as " the griev- ( 1628 >- 
ance of grievances." To save 
him from "impeachment" — 
that is, trial and punishment 
by Parliament — Charles was 
obliged to dismiss his second 
Parliament. In the next 
Parliament which he called, 
the members decided not 
to renew tneir attack on Buckingham, but to pass a 
Petition of Right, in which such arbitrary taxation and 




CHARLES I. 

In costume of a Cavalier. Notice 
the absence of the ruff, worn 
under Elizabeth and James 



212 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

imprisonment as Buckingham and Charles had used 
were declared illegal. To this law Charles was forced 
to give his consent. It was the most important act 
limiting the power of the crown which had been passed 
since the granting of the Great Charter, by King John. 
413 years before. 

A few months later. Buckingham was slain by a private 
enemy; nevertheless, the quarrels between King and 
Parliament continued. 

In 1629 this Parliament — the third one of King 
Charles's reign — broke up in great disorder. While the 
violent King's messenger knocked loudly upon their 
Par^ament 11 ! 00 ^ 6 ^ door, to summon them for dismissal. 
(1629). lYie leaders of the House of Commons forcibly 
held their Speaker in his chair, and passed a set of defiant 
resolutions. These declared that anyone who advised 
the King to bring in anti-Puritan changes in religion, or 
to collect (without Parliamentary grant) the taxes which 
were in dispute, should be considered " a capital enemy 
of the commonwealth" — that is. should be worthy of 
punishment by death. 
Period of For the nex t eleven years, no Parliament 

government was Md* an( J the King carried on the gov- 
U629-1640). ernmen t by his " absolute" power. 
Sir John Eliot was the statesman who had played the 
chief part in opposing the King's measures, and upon him 
Sir John chiefly the King's wrath now fell. In violation 
manV^to °f the rights of free speech, granted to Parlia- 
liberty. me nt, the leaders of Parliament were impris- 
oned in the Tower of London. Others made their 
submission and were released, but Eliot's brave spirit 
refused to gain freedom for himself, by surrendering the 
principle of liberty for the nation. His imprisonment 
was made more close. He was placed in a room which 



CHARLES I. AND PARLIAMENT 



213 



was dark, cold, and wretchedly uncomfortable: and none 
but his sons were allowed to visit him. Under the weight 
of this punishment his health (but not his spirit gave 
way. and he died in November, 168-2. He was truly a 
martyr to the cause of constitutional Liberty. 

Charles's refusal to call Parliament forced him to 
raise money in many objectionable ways. Among these 
was the levying of "ship money.*' 




EXT HOUSE. WESTMINSTER HALL. AND 
WESTMINSTER ABBEY 



In the old days, when an army might be raised by 
calling out the men of the country to serve in war. at 
their own expense, the counties bordering on 
the sea were often called upon to furnish ships money tax. 
for the King's service. This "ship service" 
King Charles now changed into a money payment: and 
he demanded it not only from the seaboard counties, but 
from the whole country. "Ship money" thus became a 
regular tax, laid upon the land without the consent of 
Parliament; and it was seen that, if this were permitted 
to pass unquestioned. Englishmen would lose one of 
their dearest rights. 



214 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

A rich and patriotic Englishman, named John Hamp- 
den, refused to pay his "ship money" tax, which 
amounted to twenty shillings, and the question 
Hampden of the lawfulness of "ship money" thus came 

resists it. l . pi 

before the courts. The judges of that time 
felt that they were "the lions that supported the King's 
throne," and must uphold his power; the King, too, had 
been weeding out judges whom he thought to be 
unfriendly to his claims. Therefore, the case was 
decided against Hampden, and the collection of "ship 
money" continued. The "ship money" case was 
nevertheless of great importance. It gave to the leading 
men who opposed the King's claims a chance to speak 
their minds on the subject, and so to place before the 
people the dangers of the King's policy. It showed the 
nation how insecure were their rights of property, under 
the law as administered by the King's judges. 

While the King trampled on the rights of Parliament, 
and arbitrarily took from his subjects their property, he 
angered the nation yet more deeply by his religious 
policies. 

Charles appointed as Archbishop of Canterbury a 
well-meaning but narrow-minded man named William 
Archbishop L au d, and allowed him to carry out changes 
reugious m tne Church, which seemed to the Puritans 
policy. |. p ave t ne wa y for a restoration of the Catho- 
lic faith. Men who wrote and spoke against these changes, 
or against the power of the bishops, were made to stand 
in the pillory, had their ears cut off, were branded on the 
cheek with hot irons, were fined ruinous sums, and were 
cast into prison. Finally, to complete his folly, Laud and 
the King tried to "reform" the Church of Scotland, in 
the same way that they had already " reformed" the 
Church of England. 



CHARLES I. AND PARLIAMENT 215 

In Scotland, almost the whole nation banded them- 
selves together to resist the changes. The result was a 
rebellion, called the " Bishops' Wars," in .'Bishops' 
which Charles was defeated. The Scots then Gotland 
advanced into England. Charles was obliged < 1639 )- 
to make peace with his Scottish subjects. In this he 
agreed that the Scots ' army should stay in England until 
the changes which he promised should be carried 
through, and that he would pay its expenses. 

To get money to pay the Scots, Charles was obliged, 
after eleven years oFarrjitrary gore«wneiuV at last to 
summon his Parliament — the famous Long TheLon g 
Parliament — which sat (with interruptions) caYied ment 
from 1640 to 1660. < 1640) - 

Charles could not rid himself of the Long Parliament, 
when it opposed him, as he had done his earlier ones, 
because in its earlier stages it was backed by the army of 
the Scots. Later he was prevented from dissolving it, 
because he had been forced to agree that it should not be 
dismissed without its own consent. 

In both the House of Commons and the House of 
Lords there was a strong majority against Charles's 
policies. The leaders of Parliament, therefore, set to 
work to do three things — to undo the misgovernment 
of the last eleven years, to punish Charles's ministers, 
and to pass laws which should make such abuses 
impossible for the future. 

Their hatred was chiefly directed against the Earl of 

Strafford, who had joined them in opposing the Duke of 

Buckingham, but had become Charles's 

. . . Earl of 

principal adviser after Bucking-ham's death. Stratford 

, . ii» executed. 

Strafford was honest in his course, but his 

former companions regarded him as a traitor to their 

cause. They also feared him, for so long as he lived no 



216 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



victory which they might win over the King could he 
permanent, nor their lives be safe. Every effort, there- 
fore, was made to have him put to death. He was 
accused of attempting to overthrow the liberties of the 
kingdom, and particularly of having advised the King to 




TRIAL OF STRAFFORD 
From an old pi'int 



make war on his English people. This was held to be 
treason, and Parliament at last voted that he should be 
beheaded. 

Charles had promised Strafford that he should not 
suffer in person or in honor, for aiding him. But the 
outcry of the London mob against Strafford was so great 
that the King was terrified for the safety of his Queen and 



CHARLES I. AND PARLIAMENT 217 

children, and, with tears in his eyes, he at last consented 
to Strafford's execution. 

"Put not } T our trust in princes!" cried Strafford when 
this news was brought to him. Nevertheless he had 
scarcely hoped that he would be spared. He met his 
death bravely. 

He was a pure and able man, and was loyal to what he 
believed to be his duty. It was his misfortune that his 
ideas of government were those of a past age, and that 
his death was a necessity for the people's liberty. 

After Strafford's execution, the King and Parliament 
drifted ever farther and farther apart. 

At one time, Charles caused five of the leaders of 
Parliament to be accused of treason. In violation of 
their Parliamentary privileges, he came in Attempt 
person with an armed force to seize them, feadeV^of 
When the Speaker of the Commons was asked Par,iament - 
to point out the accused members, he replied, kneeling 
before the King: 

" May it please your Majesty, I have neither eyes to 
see, nor tongue to speak, in this place, but as the House 
is pleased to direct me." 

"Well, well," replied the King, "'tis no matter; I 
think my eyes are as good as another's." 

However, he did not find the men he sought, because, 
as he said, "the birds were flown." This attempt did 
Charles no good, but only caused Parliament and the 
nation to distrust his intentions. 

Two questions, especially, now separated Charles 
from his Parliament. One was the government of the 
Church by bishops, which the Puritans wished Quarrels 

, , over militia 

to cast out, root and branch." The other and Church 

1 • 1 T» 1- P ,ea<1 t0 

was the appointment by Parliament of the war(i642). 
officers who commanded the county militia. Troops 



218 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

were now being raised to put down a rebellion in Ireland, 
and members of Parliament were fearful lest Charles 
should use these to put down Parliament itself. 

To the demand for the right to appoint the militia 
officers, Charles replied: 

" That is a thing with which I would not even trust my 
wife and children." 

On the religious question, he was equally steadfast. 
In this position he was supported by many members of 
Parliament who had formerly opposed him. On a 
measure called the " Grand Remonstrance," which was 
directed against the King's government, the opposition 
to Charles had a majority of only eleven votes, in place 
of the almost unanimous support which they formerly 
had. Feeling ran so high that swords were actually 
drawn on the floor of the House of Commons, and 
bloodshed was narrowly prevented. 

The question really at issue was this: Should the King 
or Parliament control the government ? 

It was a question which could neither be evaded nor 
compromised. Matters grew steadily worse and worse; 
and finally, in 1642, the two parties drifted into civil war. 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Why were James I. and Charles I. less successful rulers than 

Elizabeth? 

2. What is meant by "impeachment"? Who are the accusers in 

such a trial? Who are the judges? 

3. Find out what you can about Sir John Eliot. About John 

Hampden. 

4. Was the Earl of Strafford a good man or a bad man? Was he 

justly or unjustly punished? 

5. Was the King or Parliament right in the struggle over the 

Church question and the militia question? Why? 



xxv <■ — 

THE CIVIL WAR BETWEEN KING 
AND PARLIAMENT (1642-1649) 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Dates of the great civil war; liow the people were divided; 

Cavaliers and Roundheads; the Scots aid Parliament; why 

Charles was successful at first; Cromwell reorganizes the 

troops of Parliament. 
The Parliamentary victory at Marston Moor; its effects; victory 

at Naseby; Charles surrenders to the Scots; they surrender 

him to his English subjects. 
Quarrel between the army and Parliament; mistake of Charles; 

how the army secured possession of him. 
The second civil war; part played in it by the Scots; Cromwell 's 

victory at Preston; effect of this war on the fate of Charles. 
How the army got control of Parliament; the King brought to 

trial; the charge against him; his attitude; sentence passed 

on him; his execution; attitude of the people. 

The great civil war between King Charles and his 
English Parliament began in August, 1642, when the 
King "raised his standard" at Nottingham. It did not 
really end until Charles was beheaded in 1649, and a 
Commonwealth or republic was set up. 

In this war, the great majority of the nobles and the 
gentry, with their dependents, took the side of the King. 
The middle classes — the traders and manu- 

Cavaliers 

facturers of the towns, and most of the small and Round- 
heads, 
farmers — upheld the cause of Parliament. 

The King's supporters, for the most part, believed in the 

Church of England, and loved a gay life and fine clothes. 

They were called " Cavaliers." The supporters of 

Parliament were mainly sober-minded Puritans, plain 

in their lives and in their dress. They were called 



220 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



"Roundheads," from their refusal to wear the "love- 
lock," which Cavaliers wore curling down over one 

shoulder. 

The east and south — which were then the most 

populous, industrious, and wealthy parts of England— 

generally sided with Parliament. The north and west 

went with the King. 

Oxford, the seat of 

England's greatest 

university, was the 

royalist headquarters. 

Parliament controlled 

London, the navy, 

most of the seaports, 

and the law-making 

and taxing part of the 

government. From 

the beginning its 

resources were much 

greater than those of 

the King. Both sides 

sought aid outside of 

England. Parliament 

secured an army from 

the Scots. The King's 

efforts to get men 

from Ireland and the Continent profited him very little. 
In the beginning of the war, Charles gained some 

successes, chiefly because the Cavaliers were better 
Oliver soldiers than the troops which Parliament 
cromweii. ra i seo j # g u t among the members of Parliament 

was a plain, earnest, country squire, named Oliver 

Cromwell. He had an unsuspected genius for war, and 

soon saw what was the trouble with the Parliament's army. 




OLIVER CROMWELL 



CIVIL WAR— KING AND PARLIAMENT 221 

"Your troops," he told his cousin, John Hampden, 
" are most of them old decayed serving men and tapsters, 
and such kind of fellows; and their troops are gentle- 
men's sons and persons of quality. Do you think that 
the spirits of such base and mean fellows will ever be 
able to encounter gentlemen that have honor, and 
courage, and resolution in them? You must <j;et men of 
a spirit that is likely to go as far as gentlemen will go, or 
else you will be beaten still." 

Setting to work on this principle, Cromwell organized 
his famous body of troops, known as the "Ironsides." 
The name was first given to Cromwell himself, by one of 
the King's generals, and later extended to his troops. 
They were sternly Puritan men, like their commander, 
who " knew what they fought for and loved what they 
knew." And from the time when Cromwell and his 
Ironsides began to be prominent in the war, the balance 
of victory inclined in Parliament's favor. 

The first great Parliamentary victory was won in July, 
1(344, at Marston Moor, in the north of England. An 
army of Scots and Parliamentarians had laid 

. • c a- i /~ii i i 11- Battle of 

siege to the city of l ork. C harles ordered his Marston 
nephew, Prince Rupert — a dashing cavalry 
general — to go to its deliverance. As Rupert approached, 
the Scots and Parliament men drew back, and took their 
stand on a lono- rido-e above Marston Moor. When 
Rupert arrived at its foot, it was already seven o'clock in 
the evening of a lon<»' summer day. He decided not to 
begin the attack until morning, and he and his men began 
to eat such supper as they had with them. 

But suddenly, w T hile the Royalists were thus engaged, 
the Parliament men rushed down the hill and attacked 
them. 

Rupert's army fought bravely, but they were out- 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



numbered and in disorder. On the side of Parliament, 
Cromwell and his Ironsides did especial service. 

"It had all the evidence," Cromwell wrote after 
the battle, "of an absolute victory, obtained by the 
Lord's blessing upon the godly party. We never charged 
but that we routed the enemy. God made them as 
stubble to our swords." 

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Mm- that ' m^ksj fa flfa^ l^uy fi(ri*ch+ v£ 

''/• 0T nV$ CcMjtmAlcty CM,} ] -V^ru f~(y% ffo 



PART OF CROMWELL'S LETTER AFTER NASEBY 

" I wish this action may begett thankfullnesse and 

• humilitye in all that are concerned in it. Hee that 

venters his life for the liberty e of his cuntrie, I wish 

hee trust God for the libertye of his conscience, and you 

for the libertye hee fights for. In this hee rests whoe is 

"Your most humble servant, 

"Oliver Cromwell." 
"June 14th, 1645, Hauerbrowe." 

By this battle, Rupert's army was practically destroyed. 
York was forced to surrender, and almost all the north 
of England passed from the control of the King to that 
of Parliament. 

After Marston Moor, the army of Parliament was 
reorganized on a more Puritan basis. Cromwell, as 



CIVIL WAR- KING AND PARLIAMENT 223 

commander of the cavalry, now took more and more a 
leading part. 

Another great battle was fought the next year at 
Naseby, in central England. Rupert, who was this time 
accompanied by the King, was again defeated, 

1 . J . to .11 Battle of 

and again the victory was mainlv due to Naseby 

& J ' (1645). 

Cromwell and his Ironsides. "The stake 
played for at Naseby," says a great historian, "was the 
crown of England, and Charles had lost it." He was 
left without an army and his surrender became 
only a question of a little time. Worse than the loss 
of his army was the capture of Charles's papers, 
containing copies of his letters to his wife. These showed 
that in his negotiations with Parliament he was not 
sincere, and that he had no intention of making a lasting 
peace with his rebellious subjects. 

Some months after the battle of Naseby, Charles set 
out from Oxford in disguise. He arrived at the camp of 
the Scots, and surrendered to them. 

Charles thought his Scottish subjects would offer him 
better terms than his English ones. But the Scots, in 
their dealings with him, found Charles so 
obstinate and tricky, that at last they turned c-iaries 
him over to the agents of the English Parlia- 
ment, and marched off to their homes. 

Then Parliament tried its hand at negotiating with 
Charles. At this time Parliament was ruled by men who 
wanted to establish the Presbyterian form of 0uarre , 
religion in England, and persecute all other parliament 
denominations. The army, on the other hand, and arm y- 
was made up mainly of " Independents," who held 
radical religious ideas. They did not want any church 
supported by the state; but they did want equal toleration 
for all sects of Christians, except Roman Catholics and 



224 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

perhaps Episcopalians. In addition, the army was 
angry because Parliament tried to dismiss it without 
giving it the many months of back pay which were due. 

In these circumstances Charles made the fatal mistake 
of trying to play off Parliament against the army. The 
result was that the army took his custody into its own 
hands. Late one night an officer knocked at the door of 
Charles's bedroom, with a small squad of soldiers, and 
told him that he must go with them to some other place. 

"What commission have you to take me?" asked 
Charles, fearing that some harm might be intended. 

"Here is my commission," replied the officer, pointing 
to the soldiers behind him. 

Thus Charles passed from the custody of Parliament 
into that of the army. Then they tried to get him to 
agree to fair terms. But Charles could not understand 
that things were not as they had been, and that he must 
now make up his mind to accept important changes in 
the government of both church and state. 

"You cannot do without me," he said to the army 
leaders. "You will fall to ruin if I do not sustain you." 

He clung blindly to the belief that an hereditary King 
was absolutely necessary to England, and that if he only 
held out long enough he would surelv have his way. So 
he rejected the army's proposals. 

In November, 1647, Charles succeeded in escaping 

from Hampton Court, where he was kept in honorable 

The captivity, to a castle in the Isle of Wight. 

cfvuwar There he concluded a treaty with the Scots 

(1648). kv which he agreed to establish the Presby- 
terian worship in England for three years, and to put 
down the religious sects to which most of the army 
belonged. On these terms the Scots agreed to send a new 
army into England — this time to make war on their 



CIVIL WAR— KING AND PARLIAMENT 2*5 

former allies, and to restore Charles to his English 
throne. 

When the Scots came into England, Cromwell suc- 
ceeded in defeating them, in the battle of Preston, after 
three days' hard fighting. The chief result of this new 
war was to bring the army leaders at last to the grim 
determination to put the King to death. 

" If ever the Lord brings us back again in peace," they 
said on setting out for the war, "it is our duty to call 
Charles Stuart, that man of blood, to an account for the 
blood he has shed, and the mischief he has done against 
the Lord's cause and people in these poor nations." 

But, in order to give any form of law to the trial of the 
King, Parliament must act, and to get such action the 
army must drive out the Presbyterians from that body 
and secure control of it for the radical sects which they 
themselves represented. Accordingly, in December, 
1648, an officer named Colonel Pride took his stand 
before the doors of Parliament, and " purged " that body 
by arresting or turning back, as they sought to enter, 
143 of its members. After this, many other members 
of their own accord ceased to attend Parliament. Thus 
the army got control of Parliament, and could pass what 
measures it wished. 

To try the King, a High Court of Justice was ap- 
pointed, consisting of 135 members. Only 65 members 
of this court appeared at the trial, and only 59 of these 
signed the sentence which it passed against the King. 

The charge against Charles was that he had tried to 
overturn the liberties of the nation, and to introduce 
absolute government; and that he had made 
war against the Parliament and kingdom. Juicing 
He replied by denying that the court had any 
right to try him. In spite of this plea, the trial went on. 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



After sitting seven days, the court found him guilty of 
being "a tyrant, traitor, murderer, and public enemy to the 
good people of this kingdom," and sentenced him to death. 

Three days later, on January 30, 1649 — a cold and 
wintry day— the sentence was publicly carried out. 
Charles's last acts were full of bravery and dignity. 

"I fear not death," he said. "Death is not terrible to 
me. I bless my God I am prepared." 

The scaffold was erected before the King's palace of 

Whitehall, in London. The great crowd of people 

which gathered about it showed their sym- 

execution pathy for the King, and disapproval of the 

sentence, by groans of pity and horror; and 

strong guards of soldiers were necessary, there and 

throughout London, to preserve order. Large numbers 

who had condemned the King's policies disapproved of 

his execution. A poet, who was of this number, thus 

describes Charles's last moments: 

"He nothing common did or mean, 
Upon that memorable scene, 

But with his keener eye 

The axe's edge did try; 
Nor called the gods with vulgar spite 
To vindicate his helpless right, 

But bowed his comely head 

Down, as upon a bed." 

The army, with the iron hand of force, had overthrown 
Parliament and King. It remained for them, if they 
could, to reconstruct on those ruins a government which 
should be safe and free. 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Imagine yourself a Puritan boy or girl, and tell why you 

support the Parliament against the King. 

2. Imagine yourself a Cavalier and tell why you support the King. 
.'!. Find out what you can about Cromwell, up to the death of 

King Charles. 
4. Was the sentence against the King legal or illegal? Was it 
just or unjust? Give your reasons. 



XXVI 

COMMONWEALTH AND PROTECT- 
ORATE (1649-1660) 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

A republic established; it is threatened from three sources; 

Cromwell puts down its enemies at home and in Ireland; he 

invades Scotland; his victory at Dunbar; Charles II. defeated 

at Worcester; his escape; Parliament rules Scotland and 

Ireland, as well as England. 
Why Cromwell turned out the Long Parliament; "Barebone's 

Parliament"; the instrument of Government adopted; 

Cromwell made "Protector"; his troubles with Parliament; 

his death and character. 
Richard Cromwell overthrown; quarrel of the army and the 

"Rump" Parliament; General Monk restores the members 

excluded from Parliament; Charles II. restored; what the 

Puritan Revolution had accomplished. 

At the time that Parliament was preparing to bring 
the King to trial, it laid the foundations for a republican 
form of government. It declared that the , 

° , A republic 

people are the source of all just power, that e ?}?£}} shed 
the House of Commons represents the people, 
and that what it passes as law does not need the consent 
of either the King or House of Lords. The kingship and 
the House of Lords were both abolished as "useless, 
burdensome, and dangerous," and a "Commonwealth" 
was established, with a Council of State at its head. 

At once the new government found itself threatened 
from three sources — from the extreme radicals (called 
"Levellers") in England, who wanted a „ 

7 & Cromwell 

more democratic form of government; from subdues its 

° m enemies. 

the Royalists and Catholics in Ireland; and 

from the Presbyterians and Royalists of Scotland. To 

227 



228 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

Cromwell, who was now at last made " Captain General 
and Commander in Chief" of the army, fell the task of 
dealing with each of these dangers. The Levellers were 
crushed and their leaders punished. Then Cromwell 
took two fortified towns in Ireland by storm, and piti- 
lessly put the garrisons to death — as a means, he said, 
"to prevent the effusion of blood for the future." 

The danger from Scotland was not so easily overcome. 
Immediately after Charles I. was put to death, the Scots 
had proclaimed his son, Charles II., as King of Scotland; 
and he had promised them (what his father would never 
grant) that Presbyterian rule should there be supreme. 
To prevent the Scots from restoring Charles II. in Eng- 
land, Cromwell invaded Scotland; and he soon confronted 
the Scottish army, near the little town of Dunbar. 

"The enemy," wrote Cromwell, "hath blocked up 
our way at the pass, through which we cannot get without 
almost a miracle. He lieth so upon the hills that we know 
not how to come that way without great difficulty; and 
our lying there daily consumeth our men, who fall sick 
beyond imagination." 

From this difficulty Cromwell was relieved by a false 

move of the Scots, who came down from the hills to the 

level ground by the roadside. Before day- 

Du"bar f break, on the morning of September 3, 1650, 

(1650). Cromwell and his men attacked their 
unsuspecting foes, and in less than an hour's time the 
whole Scottish army was destroyed. In this battle of 
Dunbar, three thousand were slain on the field, and ten 
thousand taken prisoners. To Cromwell the result 
seemed "one of the most signal mercies that God hath 
done to England and His people." 

The Scots, however, were not crushed. While Crom- 
well was busy securing Edinburgh, and other strong 



COMMONWEALTH AND PROTECTORATE 229 

places, Charles II. and a new army made a sudden dash 
into England. At once terror seized upon BattIe of 
many of the ruling spirits of England, for W i65Y) Ster 
they dreaded a general uprising in favor 
of the young King. But, before any serious mischief 
could befall, Cromwell overtook the Scottish forces 
at Worcester; and there, just one year after the battle 
of Dunbar, he won a second great victory. His letter 
to the Speaker of the Parliament, written at ten o'clock 
of the night of the battle, tells the story: 

"Near Worcester, 3d September, 1651. 

"Sir: — Being so weary and scarce able to write, yet I thought it 
my duty to let you know thus much. That upon this day, being the 
lid of September (remarkable for a mercy granted to our forces on 
this day twelve-month in Scotland), we built a bridge of boats over 
the river Severn, about half a mile from Worcester. We passed over 
some horse and foot, and beat the enemy from hedge to hedge until 
we beat them into Worcester. The enemy then drew all his forces 
on the other side of the town, and made a considerable fight with us 
for three hours' space. But in the end we beat them totally, and 
pursued him to the fort, which we took — and indeed have beaten 
his whole army. 

"This hath been a very glorious mercy, and as stiff a contest, for 
four or five hours, as ever I have seen. Both your old forces, and those 
newly raised, have behaved with very great courage; and He that 
made them come out, made them willing to fight for you. The Lord 
God Almighty frame our hearts to real thankfulness for this, which 
is alone His doing. I hope I shall within a day or two give you a 
more perfect account. In the meantime I hope you will pardon, sir, 
Your most humble servant, 

"Oliver Cromwell." 

The escape of Charles II. from the field of Worcester 
makes one of the most thrilling stories of history. He 
slipped away in the darkness, with a few com- Escape of 
panions, and next morning set out alone, in after lesI1 " 
disguise and with short-cut hair, to try to Worcester- 
reach a place of safety. For four days and three nights 



230 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



he traveled on foot, " every step up to his knees in dirt, 
with nothing but a green coat and a pair of country 
breeches on, and a pair of country shoes that made him 
so sore all over his feet that he could scarce stir." He 
found his most loyal guides and protectors among 
persecuted Catholics, both high and low. At one time 
he lay hid all day among the branches of a bushy oak, 
standing in an open plain, while soldiers searched the 
country around for fugitives. A brave lady undertook 
to bring him to the seaport of Bristol, with Charles riding 
in the saddle as 

her servant, and ^"""".^>. 

the lady mounted 
behind on a "pil- 
lion," according to 
the fashion of that 
day. But no ship 
was to be found at 
Bristol, and they 
were forced to go 
elsewhere. Adven- 
ture then followed 
adventure, w h i 1 e 
Charles made 
his way along the 

southern coast of England, from the Bay of Bristol to 
the Straits of Dover. At the end of six weeks, he 
obtained a vessel at Brighton, which took him safely 
across to France. During the course of his wanderings 
his secret became known to over forty-five persons; but 
not one of them, for either fear or hope of reward, 
played him false. 

The battle of Worcester crushed the last opposition to 
the Commonwealth, and its rule was extended over 




BOSCOBEL HOUSE 



Where Charles II. lay hid for a time after 
Worcester 



COMMONWEALTH AND PROTECTORATE 231 



Scotland and Ireland as well as England. But Crom- 
well's work was not yet done. In a famous poem, his 
friend John Milton reminded him that — 

"Much remains 
To conquer still; peace hath her victories 
No less renowned than war." 

The remnant of the Long Parliament, which people in 
scorn called the " Rump," were unwilling to surrender 

their power. Cromwell 
They insisted S^aX 
that, in the ment - 
new Parliament which 
was to take the place 
of the old, they should 
not only have seats but 
should have a veto over 
the election of new mem- 
bers. Cromwell and his 
friends opposed this 
claim, and at last in 
April, 1653, he forcibly 
dissolved the " Rump." 
" Come, come," Crom- 
well called out from his place in Parliament. "I will 
put an end to your prating. You are no Parliament. 
Some of you are drunkards, and some of you are worse. 
How can you be a Parliament for God's people? 
Depart, I say. and let us have done with you!" And 
stamping with his foot, he called in a company of soldiers, 
which he had stationed outside, and cleared the hall. 

Then Cromwell tried the experiment of ruling by an 
assembly of "persons fearing God, and of approved 
fidelity and honesty," who were appointed by the army 
council, instead of being elected by the people. The 




CROMWELL DISSOLVING 
PARLIAMENT 



232 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

wits of that day called it "Barebone's Parliament," 

from the name of one of its members, Praise- God 

Barebone. This body began vigorously to 

"Bare- \ 

bone's Par- reform the abuses which, as Cromwell had 

liament." . . J? 

said, ' made many poor to make a few rich. 
But the task proved too great for them, and they soon 
resigned their power into Cromwell's hands. 

Next, a written constitution, called the kk Instrument 
of Government," was prepared by the army leaders, 

under which Cromwell became " Protector," 

Cromwell . . , 

made and governed with the aid of a Council of 

Protector. ° 

State and a Parliament. But troubles at once 
arose between the Protector and his Parliament, and 
Cromwell was obliged to fall back again upon the army, 
and to rule by military force. 

Worn out at last by much hard fighting and harder 
governing, and saddened by the loss of those most dear 

to him, Oliver Cromwell died on September 3, 

Death of . ... 

Cromwell 1658 — the anniversary of his great victories 
at Dunbar and Worcester. He was a great 
and good man, and many of his ideas for the reform of 
government and society were in advance of his time. 
But his attempt at governing by military force, unsup- 
ported by a majority of the nation, failed — as it must 
always fail. He was sincerely and deeply religious. 
As a poet of his party wrote: 

"He first put arms into Religion's hand, 
And timorous conscience unto courage manned; 
The soldier taught that inward mail to wear, 
And fearing God, how they should nothing fear." 

He was succeeded as Protector by his son, Richard 
Cromwell. Richard, however, had neither the force of 
character nor the hold on the army that his father had. 



COMMONWEALTH AND PROTECTORATE 233 

He permitted the army leaders to restore the "Rump" 
Parliament, and then that body speedily forced Richard 
to give up the Protectorate, and retire to private life. 

Then the " Rump," which had learned nothing by its 
former expulsion, quarreled with the army. It was again 
expelled, and then once more, after a few weeks, restored. 

By this time England was heartily tired of Protectors, 
army, and "Rump" alike, and was ready to welcome 
Charles II. as the representative of the old line of Kings. 

The restoration was accomplished mainly by General 
Monk, a strong, silent man, who had been stationed in 
Scotland, and had taken no part in the recent 

i.i x^ i iii. Charles II. 

squabbles. Now he marched his troops to restored 
London, and forced the "Rump" to admit 
the members excluded by Colonel Pride in 1048. This 
reconstituted Long Parliament then ordered a new 
election; and the new Parliament invited Charles II. 
to return from France and take the English throne. 

The Puritan Revolution was thus at an end. The 
republic which it had attempted to set up had failed. 
But its work was not all in vain. The absolute rule 
which James I. had claimed, and Charles I. had 
used, thenceforth became more difficult. In the end, 
the example of Cromwell and his followers made 
tyrannical government in England impossible. 

TOPICS FOE THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Compare the government established for the Commonwealth 

with that of the United States today. 

2. Did Cromwell do right in turning out the Long Parliament? 

Give your reasons. 

3. Compare Oliver Cromwell with George Washington. Which 

was the greater? Why? 

4. Was the restoration of Charles II. a good or a bad thing for 

England? Why? 

5. Make a list of the chief events since the death of Elizabeth. 



XXVII 

CHARLES II. AND THE STUART 
RESTORATION (1660-1685) 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Character of Charles II.; dates of his reign; changes in the man- 
ner of life; treatment of the persons who were responsible for 
the rebellion against his father; the Church restored and 
Puritan ministers expelled. 

Prosperity of the Dutch republic; Cromwell's war with it; 
Charles II. 's two wars with it; England gains New York in 
America. 

Charles's secret treaty with France; how the Dutch saved their 
land from conquest; why Charles made peace. 

The two disasters to London under Charles II; extent of the 
plague; extent of the fire. 

Charles's policy toward the Catholics; his "Declaration of 
indulgence"; it was recalled; it leads to the first "test act"; 
the "Popish Plot" arouses England; a new "test act" 
passed; unsuccessful attempt to exclude the Duke of York 
from the succession. 

Kise of the "Whig" and "Tory" parties; principles of each; 
Charles victorious over his opponents; his death. 

Charles II. entered London on May 29, 1660, which 

was his thirtieth birthday. The shouting and joy which 

greeted him were greater than could be 

Character 

of described. He was an abler man than his 

Charles II. . . 

father, and his wanderings and exile had 
given him experience of the world. But he was a bad 
man morally, and he had none of that loyalty to principle 
which caused Charles I. to uphold the Church of England 
at all cost. He was as much resolved to rule absolutely 
as his father, but he was determined, above all things, 
not to "set out on his travels again." So, when his 
measures aroused serious opposition, he drew back. For 

234 



THE STUART RESTORATION 



235 



a long time, people did not suspect him of dangerous 
designs; for his ready wit and pleasant manners disguised 
his real plans, and he seemed to be wholly given up to 
leading a gay life. 

The court and society took their tone from the King, 
and a great reaction against Puritanism set in. The 
theaters, which had been closed by the Long 

i iu- 11 Fashions 

Parliament, were re-opened. Vv ith them came of the 

i i ii i • • i i • • n Restoration. 

back bull-baiting, bear-baiting, cock-fighting, 

the May-pole dance, and all 
the other usages, good and 
bad, which characterized 
"Merry England." Pleasant 
vice and profitable corruption 
prevailed, in place of the Puri- 
tans' endless psalm singing, 
sermons, and prayer. 

It was in the time of Charles 
II., also, that the drinking of 
coffee, tea, and chocolate 
came into use in England. 
The first was introduced from 
Turkey, the second from 
China, and the third from 
Central America. Coffee 

houses, or places for drinking coffee, became the chief 

meeting places for fashionable society, where the latest 

news could always be heard. 

Charles was wise enough to let Parliament settle the 

questions which his restoration raised. 

Thirteen persons who had taken part in the trial and 

execution of Charles I. were put to death, but most of 

those concerned in the rebellion were pardoned, or were 

lightly punished. 




LADIES OF THE COURT OF 
CHARLES II. 



236 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



Charles's second Parliament, which sat from 1661 to 

1679, was as "Cavalier" as his heart could wish. It 

re-established the Church of England, and 

Puritan ° 

ministers expelled two thousand of the Puritan ministers 

expelled. l 

from their pulpits. By later laws, it forbade 
the dispossessed ministers from earning a living by 
teaching, or from holding religious assemblies, or from 
even residing within five 
miles of a town. 

From this time there 
exists, along with the 
established Episcopal 
church, a large body 
of Protestant " Dissen- 
ters " — Presbyterians, 
Baptists, Quakers, and 
the like — as well as a 
considerable body of 
Roman Catholics. One 
of the chief needs of the 
time was to secure, for 
these Dissenters, relig- 
ious toleration — that is, 
the right to worship 

peaceably, in their own way, without punishment by 
the state. The foreign policy of Charles was at first 
chiefly concerned with the "United Provinces," or 
Dutch republic. 

These provinces, situated about the mouth of the river 

Rhine, had become rich and prosperous states through 

Cromwell's commerce and industry. While Elizabeth 

the Dutch ruled over England, they became Protestant, 

(1651-54). an( j tj irew fj- th e crue l government of Spain. 

For a time, the greater part of the commerce of Europe 




MAYPOLE DANCE 



THE STUART RESTORATION 



237 



was carried on in Dutch vessels. They established a 
colonial empire which included the Cape of Good Hope, 
in Africa; Java. Ceylon, and the Moluccas, in the East 
Indies; and New Amsterdam, in America. The jealousy 
which their commercial success aroused in England had 
led Cromwell to pass a Navigation Act, which took 

from them most of their 
trade with that country. 
A war followed (1651- 
16.54); and although the 
Dutch Admiral, Van 
Tromp, for a time, sailed 
" with a broom at his 
masthead," as a sign of 
his intention to sweep 
the English fleet from 
the sea, he had at last 
been defeated and slain, 
and the Dutch had 
made peace. 

Under Charles II., two 
new 
w i t h 
Dutch 




wars were fought 



GENTLEMEN'S COSTUMES IN TIME 
OF CHARLES II. 



* " e First Dutch 

T war of 

1,1 Charles II. 

the first Of (1665-67). 

t hese ( 1 665- 1 667) , Prince 
Rupert and Admiral 
Monk won some vic- 
tories. Then Charles, thinking that peace would be 
made, laid up his fleet in the harbors of the river 
Thames, in order that he might save money to 
spend on his pleasures. But the Dutch got together a 
new fleet, and sailed up the Thames and burned three 
of the English ships which lay at anchor. They then 



238 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

blockaded the river for two weeks. Men murmured 
that such things had not happened in Cromwell's 
day. 

"Everybody," wrote an officer of the navy, "reflects 
upon Oliver, and commends him, saying what brave 
things he did, and how he made all the neighboring 
princes fear him." 

The only gain which England made from the Dutch, 
by this war, was New Amsterdam, which was conquered, 
and called New York, in honor of Charles's brother, the 
Duke of York (1664). 

Charles's second war with the Dutch came in 1672. 

He attacked them in alliance with Louis XIV. of France, 

Charles's wno was seeking to extend his kingdom at the 

Dutch* war expense of his neighbors. By a secret treaty, 

U672-74). (Charles promised Louis that he would declare 
himself a Catholic whenever the time seemed ripe for it. 
In return, the French King again and again gave large 
sums of money to Charles, to make him independent of 
Parliament. He also promised to send soldiers to his 
aid, in case rebellion broke out in England. 

The war which Charles and Louis waged went badly. 
On land, the brave Hollanders defended themselves 
against Louis XIV. by cutting the dykes, which protected 
their low-lying land against the sea, and flooding the 
open country. On the sea, the English felt that they were 
left by the French to do all the fighting. Charles's 
nephew, William III. of Orange, was now at the head of 
the Dutch government, with the title of Stadtholder; and 
the English Parliament soon forced King Charles to 
conclude a peace. Thenceforth, William III. was free to 
give all his attention to saving free government and the 
Protestant religion, in Europe, from the ambitious 
designs of Louis XIV. 



THE STUART RESTORATION 239 

The city of London, under Charles II., suffered two 
great disasters — from plague, and from fire. 

Attacks of the plague were common, owing to bad 
sanitary conditions and lack of medical knowledge. 
London streets were narrow and filthy, and 
the upper stories of the houses projected so P i a gSe eat 
that they almost met those of the other side. 
Sunlight and fresh air were thus shut out; also, the 
drainage was bad, and the water supply poor. The 
result was that, in 1665, London suffered an attack of 
the plague such as it had never experienced since the 
time of the Black Death, three hundred years before. 
For a time, more than 6,000 persons a week died from 
it, and altogether fully 1-20,000 persons perished in Lon- 
don alone. Houses in which persons lay sick with 
the disease were marked with red crosses, a foot lono-, 
together with the words, "God have mercy upon us!" 
At night, death carts went around the streets, accom- 
panied by men ringing bells and crying, ''Bring out your 
dead ! " Shops were shut up, and the streets deserted; for 
all who could do so fled to the purer air of the country. 
Thirty, forty, and even a hundred miles from London 
the people were panic stricken. They shut their doors 
even against their friends; and if two men passed upon 
the road, or in the open fields, each kept as far from the 
other as space would permit. It was not until winter 
that the sickness declined. 

Scarcely had London begun to recover from the 
plague, when it was swept by a terrible fire. The flames 
broke out in the early morning of September c 2, 

* , . The burn- 

1 060, and raged four days. The wind was ing of 

. ° J . London. 

blowing a gale, and the fire did not die out 

until four-fifths of old London was laid in ashes. 

Eighty-nine churches, including St. Paul's cathedral, 



240 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

were burned, and more than thirteen hundred houses. 
Two hundred thousand people were left homeless. In a 
diary of that time, the writer thus describes the fire at 
its height: 

"We saw the fire grow, and as it grew darker, it 
appeared more and more; in corners and upon steeples, 
and between churches and houses, as far as we could see 
up the hill of the city, in a most horrid malicious bloody 
flame, not like the fine flame of an ordinary fire. We 
saw the fire as only one entire arch of fire from this side 
to the other side of the bridge, and in a bow up the hill 
for an arch of above a mile long. It made me weep to 
see it: the churches, houses, and all on fire, and flaming 
at once; and a horrid noise the flames made, and the 
cracking of houses at their ruin." 

Some good results followed the fire. It put an end to 
the last ravages of the plague, by burning out the old, 
filthy, rat-infested quarters; and it cleared the ground 
for a rebuilding of the city in more modern fashion. 

Many persons falsely said that the fire was the work of 

"Papists" or Roman Catholics, who at that time were 

both hated and feared bv English Protestants. 

Charles J D . 

favors the \ few vears later, Charles made this reeling 

Catholics. J . . ° 

much worse by taking a step toward carrying 
out his secret treaty with Louis XIV. 

Charles did not dare to declare himself a Catholic, 
but he did issue a " Declaration of Indulgence." By 
this, he attempted to suspend all laws passed against 
Roman Catholics and Protestant Dissenters alike, and 
give them religious toleration. The measure was wise in 
itself, but it was dishonest in its motives, and was con- 
trary to the sentiments of most of his subjects. More- 
over, it was very doubtful whether the King alone could 
suspend law's w r hich had been passed by the King and 



THE STUART RESTORATION 



241 



Parliament together. The result was that a great 
opposition was aroused in Parliament. Charles was 
obliged not only to recall his declaration, but also to give 




NEW ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL 
Built after the fire 



his consent to a "test act" by which all Catholics were 
driven out of political offices. 

Not long after this, the jealous hatred of English 
Protestants for Roman Catholics was fanned to a flame 



242 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

by the discovery of what was alleged to be a "Popish 
Plot." 

A wicked man named Titus Oates swore falsely that 
Catholics were plotting to murder Charles II. and to 
restore the Catholic religion by the aid of a 
"Popish French army. Other men came forward, and 
confirmed his stories, in order that they might 
share in the rewards which were given to Oates. Unfor- 
tunately, a London magistrate, at this time, was found 
dead in a ditch, thrust through with a sword; and this 
was believed to be the work of the plotters. 

All England then went wild with excitement. Five 
Jesuit priests were convicted and hanged, after shame- 
fully unfair trials, and one Catholic nobleman was 
beheaded. Hundreds of others were arrested, and 
punished in milder ways. To check still further the 
influence of Catholics, a new "test act" was passed, 
which shut them out of the House of Lords. A desperate 
effort was also made to prevent the Duke of York, who 
had declared himself a Catholic, from succeeding his 
brother, Charles II., as King; but this was unsuccessful. 

For a long time there had been a growing opposition 

to the government of Charles II., on political grounds. 

Now, under the influence of the religious 

Whig and ' . i- • i 

Tory parties struggle, it took the form of a political party, 
called the " Whigs." The name came from a 
word used by Scottish teamsters to make their horses go 
faster. The supporters of the King were given the name 
of "Tories," from an Irish word meaning outlaws. 
The Tories generally upheld the established Church of 
England, believed that the King ruled by "divine right," 
and taught that it was a sin to resist him under any 
pretext. The Whigs, on the other hand, favored tolera- 
tion for Protestant dissenters, and believed that the 



THE STUART RESTORATION 243 

King was only an officer of the government, subject to 
the law and to Parliament. This was the beginning of 
the two great political parties whose rivalries have 
shaped the government of England from that day to this. 
In the last five years of his reign, Charles II. was 
completely victorious over his opponents. Shaftesbury, 
the great leader of the Whigs, was exiled and End f 
died abroad. Other leading Whigs were C1 ?aries's 

o o reign. 

arrested and executed, on charges of plotting < 1685 >- 
against the King. Parliament was called to meet at 
Oxford, where it would be away from the support of the 
Londoners; and it was so overawed that it passed what 
measures the King willed. To make the King's control 
permanent, steps were taken by which Tories were 
placed in power in most of the towns of England, so that 
for the future their representatives in the House of 
Commons might be favorable to the King. 

While in the height of his triumph, Charles died, in 
1685, of apoplexy. In his last hours he was reconciled 
to the Catholic church, and died in that faith. He left 
no legitimate children, and the throne passed to his 
brother James, Duke of York. 

The Whig party seemed hopelessly crushed, and it 
looked as if James II. would rule his dominions of 
England, Ireland, and Scotland with less trouble than 
had any member so far of the Stuart house. 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. "Write a letter from an imaginary boy or girl, telling of the 

changes which took place at the Restoration. 

2. Show that the English were now fighting the Dutch for the 

same reasons that formerly had caused them to fight the 
Spaniards. 

3. Was the religious policy of Charles honest or dishonest? Why? 

W r as it successful or unsuccessful? 

4. Compare the political struggles of Charles II. 's reign with 

those of Charles I. 



XXVIII 

JAMES II. AND THE 'GLORIOUS 
REVOLUTION" (1685-1689) 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

James's character and policy; what first turned the people against 
him; his use of the "dispensing power"; influence of the 
persecution of the Huguenots by Prance. 

The Declaration of Indulgence; its reception; the trial of the 
seven bishops; the rejoicing at their acquittal. 

Birth of James's son; William of Orange invited to invade Eng- 
land; why he was successful; flight of James; grounds on 
which the throne was given to William and Mary; the Bill of 
Eights; importance of this revolution. 



Unfortunately for himself, James II. was narrow- 
minded and obstinate, and was determined not only to 
be an absolute King but to restore the Cath- 
james h onc religion to a position at least equal to that 
of the Church of England. By his unwise 
policy, he angered not only the classes which had fought 
against his father, Charles I., but also those who had 
fought for his father. The result was that, within four 
years, he lost his crown, and new rulers were called to 
the throne in his place. 

At the beginning of his reign, James declared that he 
would " preserve the government in church and in state 
as it was established by law." This gave great satis- 
faction to the people. 

" We have now the word of a King," it was everywhere 
said, "and a word never yet broken." 

244 



THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION 



245 



So, when James's nephew, the Duke of Monmouth 
(who was a Protestant) tried to raise a rebellion, and 
secure the throne for himself, he got little Mon . 
support. Almost everybody rejoiced when he "{JeX!™ 
was overthrown. But, when he was pitilessly fa,ls - 
put to death, and hundreds of men- and women who had 
aided him in any way were hanged by the brutal judges 
appointed by the King, the people's satisfaction began to 

lessen. Also, it was 
soon seen that the dec- 
laration which James 
made when he as- 
cended the throne 
meant less than was 
thought. The laws 
which had "estab- 
lished " the Church 
had been passed 
under Queen Eliza- 
beth. But James 
regarded her as an 
usurper; and so, in 
spite of his promise, 
he did not feel bound 
to observe those laws. 
As a step toward putting Catholics in pow T er, he re- 
moved from their offices the judges who would not do 
what he wanted them to do. Then, in spite of 

. . James 

the test acts, he appointed Catholics to positions favors the 

. . . . ... Catholics. 

in the army, in his Council, in the universities, 
and even in the English Church. He claimed the right 
to do this under what was called the " dispensing power" 
— that is, the power to free a person beforehand from 
the disabilities imposed by a law, just as he could, by 




JAMES II. 

Notice the wig of long curly ha 
by all gentlemen 



246 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

his pardoning power, free one from the penalties of the 
law after an offence was committed. When the matter 
came before the judges, they decided that the King had 
this power. In dealing with the Church and the univer- 
sities, James made matters worse by appointing, as the 
agents to carry out his policy, an " Ecclesiastical Com- 
mission," which was similar to an earlier body which 
had proved very oppressive, and had been abolished by 
the Long Parliament. 

It seemed as though the arbitrary government of 
Charles I. was about to be revived, and to be used, not 
to uphold the Church of England, but to force the 
Catholic religion upon the country. 

English Protestants were made more suspicious by a 
step which was taken at this time in Catholic France. 
There Louis XIV., who was the ally of James II., as he 
had been of Charles II., took away from the Huguenots, 
or French Protestants, the right of worshiping as they 
pleased, which they had enjoyed for almost a century, 
and began a policy of persecution. Their churches were 
closed, their ministers were thrown into prison, and all 
sorts of hardships were put upon the Huguenots, to cause 
them to change their religion. Thousands of them 
escaped from France to Protestant countries; many 
came to England where they spread abroad hatred of 
France and of arbitrary government, and distrust of 
Catholic intentions. 

James's next step confirmed this distrust, for he 

issued a Declaration of Indulgence, such as his brother, 

He issues a Charles II., had issued, and been obliged to 

SSnoTin- withdraw. This was intended, in part, to win 

duigence. j Q j^ s s « c j e ^ p ro testaiit Dissenters, who 

would thus be freed, equally with the Catholics, from 

persecution by the Church of England. The most 



THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION 



247 



important leaders among the dissenters, however, saw 
the snare, and refused to be bribed to support the King's 
measures. 

James ordered that the Declaration should be read in 
all the churches, at the time of divine services. In spite 
of the doctrine preached by them, which made resistance 
to the King a sin, most of the clergy refused to read the 
Declaration. Seven of the most important bishops of the 
Church of England, indeed, went further. They signed 
a petition to the King, which declared 
that this dispensing power was illegal, 
and that they could not, in "prudence, 
honor, or conscience," take any part 
in proclaiming it. 

When they presented this petition 
to James, he was greatly surprised 
and angry. 

"This is a standard of rebellion," 
he cried. "Did ever a good church- 
man question the dispensing power 
before? I will be obeyed! My Dec- 
laration shall be published! I will 




remember 



A BISHOP OF THE 
TIME OF JAMES II. 



vou 



that have signed this 



paper. 

True to his word, James ordered 
that the seven bishops should be tried by the law courts. 
The charge was that their petition, which they 
had shown to nobody but the King himself, sliln° f the 
was designed to stir the people up to resist ,s ° ps ' 
the government. When the bishops were brought into 
court, they passed through a great crowd, who 
applauded, and asked for their blessings. Some of 
the ablest lawyers of England appeared to defend them. 
One of the jurors was a man who brewed beer for the 



248 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

King's palace, and was afraid of losing the King's trade. 
He refused to listen to the arguments of the others, 
saying that his mind was made up against the bishops. 

"If you come to that," said one of the others, "look 
at me. I am the largest and strongest of this twelve; and 
before I find such a petition a crime, here will I stay till 
I am no bigger than a pipestem." 

The jury remained locked up all night, and when 
morning came the brewer gave way. The verdict which 
they reported to the court was, "Not guilty." 

Cheers upon cheers greeted this decision, and, as the 
news spread through London, the whole city burst into 
rejoicing. James was reviewing the army, which he had 
stationed just outside London to overawe the city, when 
the news came. The soldiers cheered, like the rest of 
England. When James asked what it meant, their 
officers said: 

"Nothing, except that the soldiers are glad that the 
bishops are acquitted." 

"Do you call that nothing?" he replied. And he 
added: "So much the worse for them." 

The leading men of England had borne James's 

misgovernment quietly, for his two children, Mary and 

Anne, were Protestants, and the elder of them, 

Jameses Mary, was married to William of Orange. 

When James should die, therefore, he would 

be succeeded by a Protestant, and all would be well. 

But, in the very midst of the bishops' trial, James's 

second wife gave birth to a little son. According to the 

law, this son would succeed to the throne, in preference 

to his sisters; and since James was now a Catholic it 

was clear that the little Prince would be brought up as 

a Catholic, and so Catholic rule in England was likely 

to continue indefinitely- 



THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION" 



249 



This changed the whole situation. The leading men 
refused to believe that the hoy was the child of James 
and the Queen, hut claimed that he was an adopted 
child, who had been smuggled into the palace in a 



The doctrine of non-resistance was now forgotten. 
On the very day that the bishops were acquitted, seven 
of the leading men. some of them Whigs and some 










WILLIAM OF ORANGE SETTING OUT FOR ENGLAND 

Tories, joined in an invitation to William of Orange, to 
come over with an armed force, and defend the rights 
of his wife Mary and the liberties of the English people. 
William accepted the invitation, and landed in England 
with a small army, on November 5, 1688. James tried 
to undo his illegal acts, and to recover the lost Wimamo f 
loyalty of his people; but it was too late. The f^adtt 
soldiers whom he sent against William were En £ ,and - 
persuaded by their commanders to go over to the side 



250 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

of the invader. In the north, a rebellion was raised 
against the King, with cries of " A free Parliament, the 
Protestant religion, and no Popery." The Princess 
Anne and her husband fled from the Court, and joined 
William. 

" God help me," cried James, when this news was 
brought to him, "my very children have forsaken me!" 

Deserted by everybody, he determined to flee to France. 

On his first attempt, he was arrested by some fishermen, 

who took him for an escaping criminal, and 

James n. he was brought back. This did not suit 

William, for he did not want to have the 

problem of deciding what should be done with a deposed 

King. So James was driven from his palace, and the 

way was left open (which James was not long in finding) 

to escape abroad. His second attempt was successful. 

Louis XIV. received him kindly, and gave him the use 

of a palace, and a yearly pension. 

To settle the government in England, a new " Conven- 
tion Parliament" was called. This declared that James 
The Bin of nac * broken the "contract" between King and 

passed people, and that by fleeing from the kingdom 

(1689). j ie j iac j gi ven U p the throne. William and 
Mary were then chosen as joint sovereigns. The next 
year, the Parliament passed the Bill of Rights, which 
confirmed all that had been done in the Revolution, 
declared illegal the oppressive acts of James II., and 
provided that no Catholic should ever succeed to the 
throne of England. This famous law ranks in importance 
with the Great Charter of 1215, and the Petition of 
Right of 1628. Scotland also deposed James II., and 
accepted William and Mary as its sovereigns; at the same 
time, it declared Presbyterianism to be the established 
religion of that kingdom. Only in Ireland did govern- 



THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION 251 

ment continue in the name of James II., and there also, 
as we shall see, it was soon to be overthrown. 

Thus the Stuart rule was ended, and the principle was 
established that the King is under Parliament and the 
law, and not above them. This change was accomplished 
almost wholly without war or bloodshed and with very 
little disturbance among the people. 

Well may Englishmen — and we also who derive our 
governments from them— look back upon the benefits 
which this change brought, and call it the " Glorious 
Revolution of 1688!" 



TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 



1. Compare the character of James II. with that of Charles II. 

2. Make a list of the things which caused James's fall. 

3. Read the account in Macaulay 's ' ' History of England ' ' of the 

rejoicing when the bishops were declared "Not guilty." 

4. Compare the religious struggles under Charles II. and 

James II. with those under Charles I. 

5. Which were the wiser rulers, the Tudors or the Stuarts'? Why? 

6. State in writing, in your own words, the significance of the 

Revolution of 1688. 



XXIX 

THE REIGN OF AVILLIAM AND 
MARY (1689-1702) 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Characters of William and Mary; dates of their reign; France 
aids James II.; Battle of the Boyne in Ireland; Battle of 
Killiekrankie in Scotland; Massacre of Glencoe. 

William's war against Louis XIV.; attitude of Englishmen; 
Battle of La Hogue; terms on which France made peace; 
importance of this war. 

The Toleration Act; Catholics excluded from it; the Mutiny Act; 
practices aiding the growth of political liberty; the Triennial 
Act; a step toward Cabinet government; censorship of the 
press removed. 

Death of Queen Mary: the Act of Settlement; death of "William; 
importance of his reign. 

Parliament chose wisely in placing William and Mary 

upon the throne. Mary was a Stuart, was still young 

and handsome, and was popular because of 

Characters , , • nr-n* 

of William her good heart and pleasing manners. William 

and Mary. & i 

III., on the other hand, was a foreigner, and 
had a distant manner, which held people off at arm's 
length. His English subjects never loved him, as they 
did Mary, although they recognized his ability and his 
just character. On the Continent, he had already 
become the leader of the Protestants in resisting the 
ambitious plans of France. As King of England, his 
chief object was still to unite Europe against Louis XIV., 
but at the same time he wished to govern strictly accord- 
ing to the constitution. 

Although James II. had fled from England, he had no 
intention of giving up his throne without a struggle. 
Louis XIV. treated him as if he were still King of Eng- 

252 



REIGN OF WILLIAM AND MARY 253 



land, and supplied him with soldiers, arms, and money. 
James's chief attempt was made in Ireland, where the 
great majority of the people were Catholics, and favored 
his cause. 

When James arrived in Ireland he laid siege to the 
Protestant town of Londonderry. The siege lasted for 
more than a hundred days. The inhabitants 

t War with 

of the town suffered terribly; more than half James n. 
• i i i / • ' n Ireland - 

ot them perished, and the survivors were 

forced to eat the flesh 
of horses, cats, and 
dogs. James's officers 
carried on the siege 
with savage cruelty; 
but still the cry was, 
"No surrender." 
When at last food was 
all gone, except a little 
tallow and some salted 
hides, a fleet sent by 
William broke 
through the "boom" 
which closed the har- 
bor, and the town 
was saved. 

The next summer 
(1090) William him- 
self took a large force 
to Ireland, and won a great victory in the battle of 
the river Boyne. The Irish cavalry fought bravely, but 
their foot soldiers were untrained, and fled from the 
field. James was one of the first of the fugitives to reach 
the city of Dublin, and there lie bitterly told an Irish lady 
that her countrymen had "run away." 




WILLIAM II] 



254 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

"If they have. Sire," she replied, "your Majesty seems 
to have won the race." 

James now returned to France, leaving his Irish 
supporters to their fate. It was many months before the 
last stronghold surrendered to William's generals; and 
when that happened, more than 10,000 of the Irish 
soldiers were allowed to go to France, where they formed 
a famous "Irish brigade" in Louis XIV. 's army. 

In Scotland, also, William had to fight for the crown. 

A nobleman, named Dundee, gathered together the 

Highland clans, and met William's general, 

William's » -iii 

war in as he and his men came toiling up through the 

Scotland. . i « i i 

pass of Killiekrankie, in central Scotland. 
William's troops had been supplied with bayonets, a 
new French invention; but these fitted into the muzzles 
of the guns, instead of fastening to the outsides, and the 
guns could not be fired with the bayonets in position. 
After firing a few volleys, the Highlanders drew their 
broadswords, and rushed like a whirlwind upon their 
English and Lowland enemies. They were upon 
William's troops before the latter could fix their bayonets. 
Within a few minutes the battle was won. But the brave 
Dundee there lost his life, and James II. had no one to 
take his place. 

William succeeded, without much difficulty, in recov- 
ering from this defeat, and bv the end of 1G91 most of 
the Highland clans had submitted. The MacDonalds 
of Glencoe, however, put off the hateful duty to the last 
moment; and, through a mistake, they allowed the time 
set by William for receiving submissions to pass without 
giving in their names. They were misrepresented to 
William by their enemies as murderers and brigands. 
So William gave orders to " extirpate that nest of thieves," 
as an example to others. This cruel order was carried 



REIGN OF WILLIAM AND MARY 255 

out with vet greater cruelty. The soldiers who were sent 
to Glencoe pretended to come as friends, and ate at the 
tables of the MacDonalds, and joked and played cards 
with them. Then, when night came, they treacherously 
fell upon their hosts, and put them to death. Only a 
fourth of the clan succeeded in escaping. When this 
"massacre of Glencoe" became known to the Scottish 
Parliament, it caused a great outcry, and William was 
obliged to dismiss from his employ the persons responsible 
for it. 

The help which Louis XIV. gave to James II. led to 
war between England and France. 

For eight years, William was at the head of a great 
league — composed of Great Britain, Holland, Spain, 
and Germany — which fought the French War 
wherever they found them. On the Continent, £|uisxiv. 
it was chiefly a war of sieges, and of pitched ofFrance - 
battles between an army carrying on the siege and one 
trying to relieve the besieged town. Soon after the begin- 
ning of the war, France won a naval victory which for two 
years gave it command of the sea. Many leading 
Englishmen, in William's service, grew so faint-hearted 
that they secretly wrote to James II., telling him that 
they were favorable to his cause; and William was 
obliged to let their treason pass unnoticed. 

But the burning of a village on the coast of England, 
by a French fleet, aroused England's spirit. James also 
issued a foolish proclamation, in which he threatened, if 
he was successful, to punish all persons who had in any 
way served under William; and this made men hesitate 
to replace him on the throne. 

Then, in 1692, the English won a great naval battle 
off La Hogue, which again gave them the command of 
the sea, and freed them from all danger of invasion. 



256 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

Russell, the English commander, was one of those who 
had secretly informed James that he would help him. 

" But do not think," he had told James's messenger, 
"that I will let the French triumph over us in our own 
sea. Understand this, that, if I meet them, I fight them, 
even though his Majesty himself should be on board." 

Russell's hatred of the French was greater than his 
love for James II. , and he kept his word about fighting 
them, in spite of his promise to James. 

At last, in 1697, a peace was made, by which Louis 
agreed to give up his conquests, and to acknowledge 
William III. as King of England. William was thus 
successful in his struggle with the "Grand Monarch" of 
France. He had shown England, moreover, that its 
greatest enemy now was not Spain, but France, and that 
if the English wanted to develop their trade and colonies 
it was chiefly with France that they must struggle. So 
he started England on a new "hundred years' war" with 
France, which was to be fought all over the world, 
wherever French and English met, and which did not 
end until England had won from France practically all 
her colonial possessions, and established the British 
Empire. 

In William's reign, also, began many of the practices 

which established political and religious liberty in 

Reli _ England. The Protestant Dissenters were 

n'berty rewarded, for their refusal to aid James II. in 

secured. j^ illegal measures, by the passage of a 

Toleration Act. This relieved them from the fines for 

failure to attend the services of the Church of England, 

which were imposed by laws made in Elizabeth's reign, 

and also permitted them to have chapels and hold 

services of their own. Catholics, however, were not 

admitted to these privileges. For nearly a hundred 



REIGN OF WILLIAM AND MARY 257 

years the laws against Catholics not only continued in 
full force, but were even made stronger. 

To prevent any King becoming strong enough to over- 
throw free government by force, as James II. had tried 
to do. Parliament made a change in regard to 

fe ^. to Growth of 

the Mutiny Act, which gives the King and political 
his officers power to control the army. They 
now began to pass this act for only a year at a time, 
instead of for a long term of years. Parliament also 
adopted the practice of voting money to run the 
government for only a year at a time. In this way, 
it was made impossible for a King to rule without 
Parliament, for Parliament must meet at least once 
each year, to pass the Mutiny Act and the "appro- 
priation" bills. A few years later, Parliament also 
passed a Triennial Act, which provided that no Parlia- 
ment should continue in existence, without a new election, 
for more than three years. The period for which Parlia- 
ment can sit was later changed to seven years; but the 
principle still holds good, that such "long Parliaments" 
as that which began under Charles I., and that which sat 
under Charles II., shall not be allowed. 

The Bank of England was also established under 
William. This made it much easier for the government 
to raise money, and to carry on its financial business. 
Today the Bank of England is one of the greatest money 
institutions in the world. 

In the latter part of his reign, William took the step of 
choosing all his chief ministers from the party which at 
that time had a majority in the House of Commons, 
and hence best represented the views of the people. 
A very little more change, made in later reigns, brought 
about a system of " cabinet government, " under which 
England is ruled today. 



258 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

From William's reign also dates the right of any man 

to print any book, pamphlet, or newspaper that he wants 

to, without having to submit it beforehand to 

Freedom ° 

of the press a " censor" to see that its opinions are such 

gained. l 

as the government and church approve of. 
Newspapers now 
sprang up, and it 
was not long before 
the first daily paper 
was founded. This 
"freedom of the 
press "helped greatly 
to educate the people, 
and to inform them 
of what the govern- 
ment was doing ; and 
thus a "public 
opinion" was formed 
which statesmen of 
both parties were 
obliged to take ac- 
count Of. QUEEN MARY II. 

In 1694 Queen Mary died, of the smallpox, which at 
that time, before vaccination was discovered, carried off 
Death of thousands of persons each year. William's 
Mary. grief was heart-rending. "I was the hap- 

piest man on earth," he cried, "and now I am the 
most miserable. She had no faults — none. You knew 
her well, but you could not know — nobody but myself 
could know — how good she was." 

William and Mary had no children, and so, by a 
provision in the Bill of Rights, Mary's sister, Anne, 
became heir to the throne. The last of Anne's seventeen 
children died before William passed away, and it then 




REIGN OF WILLIAM AND MARY 259 



became clear that some further provision must be made 
concerning the succession. So, in 1701, Par- The Act 



of Settle- 
ment 



liament passed an Act of Settlement, which 
provided that, after Anne's death, the crown P assed - 
should go to Sophia, a granddaughter of James I., and 
to her descendants, "being Protestants." Sophia's 
husband was Elector (or Prince) of Hanover, one of the 
German states, and this act thus paved the way for the 
"Hanoverian succession," which actually took place in 
1714. Another provision of the Act of Settlement was 
that judges should hold their offices during life, or so 
long as they behaved well. This provision remedied one 
of the greatest abuses under the Stuart Kings, by making 
it impossible to remove judges at the King's pleasure, in 
order to get from the courts decisions which suited him. 
The next year after this act, William III. died, worn 
out with anxiety and hard work. The immediate cause 
of his death was a fall from his horse. He 

Death of 

was a great King, though he was not a pop- wiiiiam 

ular one. We should think of him especially 

as the one who brought England safely through a great 

crisis, and who first showed the world how, in a country 

like England, Parliament and the Crown could govern 

together. 



TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Read an account of the siege of Londonderry. (Macaulay, 

"History of England," Ch. xii.) 

2. Read aloud Browning's poem entitled "Herv£ Eiel " (about 

the escape of the French fleet after La Hogue). 

3. Make a list of five ways in which the Revolution and the 

reign of William and Mary helped the growth of liberty. 

4. Compare the character and work of William III with that of 

Oliver Cromwell. 



XXX 

QUEEN ANNE, THE LAST OF THE 
STUARTS (1702-1714) 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Dates of Anne's reign; influence of Lady Marlborough; rise of 
the Duke of Marlborough; his character and ability. 

Origin of the War of the Spanish Succession; England's interest 
in it; where it was fought; the Battle of Blenheim; end of 
the war; England's gains by the treaty of Utrecht. 

Union of England and Scotland; its terms; how shown on the flag. 

Plans of the "Jacobites"; why they failed; death of Queen 
Anne; the Hanoverian House comes to the throne. 

Queen Anne was a good-hearted woman, and was very 
devoted to the Church of England. But she was stupid 
and without ability to govern, and was always ruled by 
her favoritec. 

From girlhood Anne was under the influence of a 

beautiful, ambitious, and high-tempered lady of the 

Oueen court, named Sarah Jennings. Lady Sarah 

L^Mari- married John Churchill, a handsome young 

borough. man5 of polished manners, who was as poor 

and ambitious as Sarah herself. It was through their 

influence that Anne deserted her father, at the time of 

the Revolution, and went over to the side of William 

and her sister Mary. Churchill also deserved well of 

William, because he led over his troops in James's army 

to William's side. After the Revolution was successful, 

William made him Earl of Marlborough; but William 

never fully trusted him, because he knew that the new 

Earl was often plotting with his old master. 

260 



THE LAST OF THE STUARTS 



261 



In Queen Anne's reign Marlborough at once became 
the chief man in the government. In spite of his bad 
conduct in the past, and his greed for money, Lord Marl . 
this was a fortunate thing for England. Marl- |££ t ugh a 
borough was both the greatest statesman and ^ eneral - 
the greatest general of his time. A great Frenchman said 
of Marlborough that " he never besieged a fortress that 
he did not take, never fought a battle that he did not win, 

and never carried on 
a negotiation that he 
bring to a 




did not 
successful close." 
One of his strong 
n dealing 



points i 
with men 



was his 
unfailing politeness 
and his good temper. 
But the chief factor 
in Marlborough's 
rise w a s the fact 
that his wife, who 
was devoted to him, 
was the bosom friend 
and constant com- 
panion of the Queen. 
The result was that 
the richest positions and highest honors were given 
the Marlboroughs, including for him the title of Duke, 
and the chief command of the English forces. 

England needed a general of great ability at this 
time, for she was once more at war with Louis XIV. of 
France — this time over the succession to the throne of 
Spain. 

What difference, you may ask, did it make to England 



QUEEN ANNE 



262 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

who became King of Spain? Ordinarily it made little 

Question difference. But now it happened that the 

succession cme f claimant of the Spanish crown was the 

in Spain. « Dauphin" of France — that is, the eldest son 

of Louis XIV. — and it would never do to permit France 

and Spain, with their vast colonies and dependencies, to 

become united under the same rule. 

William III. had foreseen this difficulty, and had 
negotiated "partition treaties" by which Spain and the 
Spanish colonies Avere to go to an Austrian Prince, and 
the French Prince should receive only the Spanish pos- 
sessions in Italy. This was unsatisfactory to the Spanish 
people; and when the King of Spain died, in 1700, he 
left a will giving his whole possessions, not to the Dau- 
phin, but to the Dauphin's second, son. France would go, 
in the course of time, to the Dauphin's eldest son, and 
thus the two countries would not have the same King, 
though they would be under the same family. It was 
thought that this would remove the objections of the 
other nations, but it did not. 

Although Louis XIV. had signed the partition treaties, 
he decided to accept the inheritance offered by the 
Spanish King's will. He presented his little grandson to 
the French court, saying — 

" Gentlemen, behold the King of Spain ! " 
He was also reported to have said that "the Pyrenees 
have ceased to exist." This meant that, thenceforth, 
Spain and France would be practically one country. 

This arrangement disturbed what statesmen called 

"the balance of power" between the different countries, 

war of the an< ^ Austria and the Dutch republic deter- 

iuccession m hied to resist it. The result was a great war, 

begins. called the War of the Spanish Succession, 

which lasted for eleven vears. It was fought all over 



THE LAST OF THE STUARTS 



263 



western Europe, and in North America. At first the 
English people took little interest in the matter. But 
when James II. died, in France (in 1700), Louis XIV. 
broke his treaty with England by recognizing James's 
son ("the Pretender,'' as he was called) as King of 
England. A storm of indignation then broke out in 
England, and under Queen Anne that country became 
the leading member of the "Grand Alliance" against 
Louis XIV. 

Marlborough became commander in chief of the Eng- 
lish and Dutch forces, while the commander of the 

Austrian forces was Prince 
Eugene of Savoy. Eugene 
also was a great general , and 
the relations between the two 
commanders were of the 
friendliest sort. 

The greatest battle of this 
war was fought in Germany, 




Marl- 



MEDAL IN CELEBRATION 

OF VICTORY AT 

BLENHEIM 



on the river Dan- 

ube (1704). A v b -° »f a ' t s 

French army had B»« nh « im - 



passed through the Black 
Forest, and was marching- 
do wn the valley of the Danube, to attack Vienna, 
the Austrian capital. Marlborough and Prince Eugene 
came up with them near the little village of Blenheim, 
and there the battle took place. Both sides fought 
bravely, but Marlborough and Eugene showed the 
greater skill and won the victory. In addition to the 
French who were slain or taken prisoners, thousands 
of their men were forced back into the river Danube 
and drowned. That night Marlborough wrote this 
hastv note to his beloved wife: 



264 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

" I have not time to say more than to beg that you 
will give my duty to the Queen, and let her know 
that her army has had a glorious victory. The French 
commander and two of his generals are prisoners, 
and are in my coach; and I am following the rest. The 
hearer of this letter will give you an account of what 
has passed." 

The battle of Blenheim was indeed " a glorious 
victory." It not only saved Vienna from the French, 
but also restored the ancient fame of the English 
soldiers. 

The war continued for some years after this. In its 
latter part the Tories, who were opposed to the war, got 
control of the government in England. Lady Marl- 
borough, also, foolishly quarreled with the Queen. The 
result was that Marlborough was removed from his 
command, and then the war did not go so well for the 
allies. 

At last, Louis XIV. — who was now nearing the close 
of his long reign — made peace. By the treaty of Utrecht 
(1713) the French Prince received Spain, 
the war with its colonies; but it was expressly agreed 
that France and Spain should never be 
united under the same King. The Austrians received 
most of the other Spanish possessions in Europe. Eng- 
land received the rocky fortress of Gibraltar, at the 
entrance to the Mediterranean Sea, which she had taken 
in the course of the war, and which she still retains. 
She also received Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and the 
Hudson Bay territory in America. Thus the War of the 
Spanish Succession not only saved her from having a 
Stuart King placed over her, but it marked a step in the 
building up of her colonial empire at the expense of 
France. 



THE LAST OF THE STUARTS 



265 



Another event of importance in this reign was the 
union of England and Scotland. Ever since the time 
when James I. came to the English throne — England 
except for a short period under Cromwell— , a a n n d d Scot " 
the two countries had been ruled by the same un,ted - 
King, though they had kept their separate Parliaments, 
and were otherwise separate nations. In Queen Anne's 
rcio-n, this arrangement was ended by an Act of Union 
(1707). This provided that one sovereign and one 




VIEW OF GIBRALTAR 
Notice the resemblance in shape to a lion lying down 

Parliament should rule the two countries, under the name 
of " Great Britain." Scotland received a fair share of 
members in both the House of Commons and the House 
of Lords, but neither the Scottish law nor the established 
Presbyterian church of Scotland was to be changed. 

The union of the two countries is indicated in the 
national flag. The flag of England was white, with a 
large upright red cross; the flag of Scotland was blue, 



*66 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



with a diagonal white cross. In the new flag, the two 
crosses were united, and the corner of the flag in which 
the crosses were placed was called the "union." About 
a century later, Ireland was brought under the same 
Parliament with Great Britain, and its cross — a red 
diagonal — was then added to the flag. When a flag is 
made up of the 
union only, it is 
called a " union 
jack.'' The 








THE UNION JACK 



union jack, 
therefore, as it 
is now used by 
the British 
army, consists of 
a blue flag, bear- 
ing on it (1) an 
upright red cross 
e d £ e d w i t h 
white, (*2) a 

diagonal white cross, and (3) a diagonal red cross. 
As the renm of Anne came to a close, it looked as 

o 

though the rule of a Stuart and a Catholic would be 

restored, after all. That this did not happen. 

Jacobite says a modern writer, was "the greatest 

miracle in English history." All of the chief 

positions in the government were in the hands of the 

"Jacobites," or supporters of the line of James II.; and 

they were sending letters to the Pretender, and planning 

to make him King. But there was one difficulty — the 

fact that he was a Catholic. He was urged to give up 

his religion, or at any rate not to show himself openly a 

Catholic, but he refused. 

" How could my subjects ever depend upon me, or be 



THE LAST OF THE STUARTS 267 

happy under me," he wrote, "if I should use such 
dishonesty to o-et myself amongst them ?" 

This refusal did credit to his heart, but it made the 
task of his friends very difficult. The final defeat of 
their plans was due to the facts, first, that 

1 . Death of 

Anne died suddenly, in 1714, before the Queen 

Anne. 

Jacobites were quite ready; and second, that 
the Whig leaders acted promptly and decidedly, in 
forcing the Council to carry out the provisions of the 
Act of Settlement. 

The Electress Sophia had died shortly before this, and 
the heir to the German territory of Hanover, as well 
as to the kingdom of Great Britain, was her son George. 
He was accordingly proclaimed at once, as King of 
Great Britain, under the name of George I., and quietly 
succeeded to the throne. In this way the house of 
Hanover, which has ruled Great Britain down to our 
own day, and has widely extended the British Empire, 
first secured the crown of the island kingdom. 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Find out what you can about Lady Marlborough and her con- 

nection with Queen Anne. 

2. Eead an account, of the great writers of Queen Anne's reign 

(Addison, Swift, Defoe, Pope). 

3. Was it better for England, in Anne's time, to be governed by 

the Whig party or the Tory party? Give your reasons. 

4. In what ways was it an advantage for England and Scotland 

to be under the same Parliament? 

5. Did William III. or Marlborough do more toward building up 

the British Empire? Give your reasons. 



XXXI 
THE FIRST HANOVERIAN KINGS 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Dates of the reigns of George I. and George II.; characters of 

those Kings; how "Cabinet government" arose; Sir Eobert 

Walpole the first Prime Minister; his policy. 
Captain Jenkins and the war with Spain; this leads to the War 

of the Austrian Succession; why England was interested; 

attempt of the "Young Pretender" to gain the English 

throne; its failure; end of the war. 

George I. was King of Great Britain for thirteen years, 
and his son, George II., was King after him for thirty- 
George i. three. They were plain, commonplace per- 
ami George sons > without much ability, and were more 
i76o! 727 interested in Hanover than they were in 
England. But they had the good judgment to put in 
office ministers whom Parliament trusted, and then let 
them run the government. The ministers usually 
belonged to the Whig party, for it was to that party that 
the Hanoverians owed their throne. The reigns of these 
first hvo Hanoverian Kings were mainly a time of peaceful 
development; but the period closed with a great war, 
from which England profited even more than it did from 
the time of peace. 

George I. could speak no English at all, so he did not 

attend the meetings of his ministers; and George II. , 

Rise of though he could speak English brokenly, 

g*ve?n- followed the same practice. In this way it 

ment - became the established principle that the 

ministers, who made up the " Cabinet," and were 

responsible for carrying on the government, should meet 

and discuss their plans without the King being present. 

268 



THE FIRST HANOVERIAN KINGS 269 



It was at this time also that the practice arose of one 
minister being above all the others. He was called the 
Prime Minister, and was the one chiefly responsible for 
carrying on the government. In this way the Cabinet 
became more united, and more independent of the King, 
though it continued to be dependent on Parliament. 
The first real Prime Minister was Sir Robert Walpole, 

who carried on the govern- 
ment for twenty- WaIpole> 
one years, under prfme St 
George I. and Minister - 
George II. Queen Caroline, 
the wife of George II., was a 
wise and tactful woman, and 
did much to smooth the rough 
places for Walpole. His policy 
was, as he said, to "let sleep- 
ing dogs lie"; so he did every- 
thing to keep England at 
peace, both at home and 
abroad. Once when there 
was a war on the Continent, 
Walpole said to the Queen: 
, "Madam, there were fifty 
thousand men slain in Europe 
this year, and not one of them was an Englishman." 
But, towards the end of his long administration, 
Walpole was obliged, against his will, to begin a small 
war with Spain. 

By the treaty of Utrecht, a limited right to trade with 
the Spanish colonies had been given to English merchants, 
and the Spaniards accused the English of abusing this 
right. The English, in turn, complained that their ships 
were stopped by the Spanish war vessels, and searched 




SIR ROBERT WALPOLE 



2?(> THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

for goods intended to be used in smuggling; and they 
also complained that English sailors were thrown into 
Spanish dungeons, and tried by the Spanish Inquisition 
as heretics. Finally, a Captain Jenkins set all England 
afire by his story that his ship had been stopped and 
searched by Spaniards; and that, when they found no 
evidence of wrong-doing, they angrily cut off his ear. 




A STREET IX LONDON ABOUT 17 1' 

As proof of his story, he showed the car, which he carried 
abotrt with him wrapped up in cotton. When asked 
what his feelings were when he was in the hands of the 
Spaniards, Jenkins said: 

"I commended my soul to God, and my cause to my 
country." 

AValpole was forced either to go to war, or to resign as 
Prime Minister. He chose to go to war; hut it was 
against his better judgment. 



THE FIRST HANOVERIAN KINGS 271 

"They are ringing their hells now," he said, as London 
rejoiced at the news, "but they will soon be wringing 
their hands." 

Like every war in which England was engaged, in 
that century, this speedily grew into a war hetween 
England and France. Queen Maria Theresa •*„„„«... 
had just succeeded to the throne of Austria, pJ|J ce 
and Frederick the Great of Prussia took < 1743 >- 
advantage of the opportunity to seize a part of the 
Austrian lands. In the hitter war hetween Austria and 
Prussia which followed, Prance took the side of Prussia. 
George II., as ruler of Hanover, was jealous of Prussia, 
and he persuaded the English Parliament to take the 
side of Austria, against Prussia. Spain, and France. 

This War of the Austrian Succession, like that of the 
Spanish Succession, was fought wherever the two parties 
confronted one another in Germany, in Italy, in the 
Netherlands, on the seas., in America, and in far-off India. 

The war in Europe usually went against the English 
and Austrians, for they had no general equal to Fred- 
erick the ( ire at, and no army like the one he commanded. 
'Idie English fleets, however, gained some victories, and 
the English colonists in America captured some places 
from the French; hut in India the English lost to the 
French most of their trading posts. 

As a pari of this War of the Austrian Succession, there 
was a daring attempt to place the Pretender on the Eng- 
lish throne. The French collected an army. The 
on their coast, to aid "Prince Charlie," the invades 
eldest son of the Pretender, in invading (1745). 
England; hut contrary winds prevented the army from 
crossing the Channel, and it disbanded. The next year 
(1745) "Prince Charlie" made his way to Scotland with 
only seven followers, determined to arouse the Jacobites 



272 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



to rebellion. The "Young Pretender," as the English 
called him, was young, handsome, brave, and polite, so 
that he Avon to his support a large following. He took 
Edinburgh, and then put the English to flight in a battle 
which lasted only a very short time. The Jacobites went 
wild with delight. 

"We have a Prince," they said, "who can eat a dry 

crust, sleep on 
pease-straw, eat 
his dinner in 
four minutes, 
and win a battle 
in five." 

The Young 
Pretender re- 
solved to make 
a dash into 
England, hoping 
that the people 
there would rise 
and proclaim his 
father as King. 
By hard march- 
ing, his little 
army got as far 
as Derby, within a hundred and thirty miles of the 
capital ; and all London was thrown into a panic. But 
still there was no sign of an army from France, and the 
English Jacobites refused to risk their lives uselessly, 
by rising in rebellion. So the Prince was obliged to 
retreat to Scotland. 

Two more battles were fought, in the second of 
which the Pretender was defeated, and his forces com- 
pletely scattered. 




THE YOUNG PRETENDER 



THE FIRST HANOVERIAN KINGS 273 

For five months, "Prince Charlie" then lay hid in 
different parts of western Scotland, while a large reward 
was offered for his capture. Many persons 

r i Escape 

must have known his whereabouts, vet so of the 

" Pretender 

loyal were the Scottish people to ' bonnie 
Prince Charlie" that no one came forward to claim 
the reward. The Prince finally succeeded in reaching 
a French vessel, and escaped safely to France. 

This was the last real attempt to restore the Stuarts to 
the British throne, though there are still persons in that 
kingdom who keep up the form of recognizing a member 
of the Stuart line as their sovereign. 

In 1748, a peace was finally made which ended the 
War of the Austrian Succession. Frederick the Great 
kept the territory which he had taken from 

1 l . End of 

Austria; but all other conquests, including the war 
those made by either party in America and 
in India, were restored. The only gain which Great 
Britain made by the lono- war was the recognition of the 
Hanoverian Kings by France, and the agreement of 
France to drive the Pretender from that country. 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Was it a good or a bad thing for Great Britain that George I. 

and George II. were not strong, active rulers? Give your 
reasons. 

2. What is meant by "Cabinet government"? Compare the 
position of the ministers after the rise of Cabinet government 
with their position before. 

'.'>. What is meant by a "Prime Minister"? Compare the posi- 
tion of the Prime Minister with that of our President. 

4. Was the fact that their King was now the ruler also of Han- 

over an advantage or a disadvantage to the people of Great 
Britain? Give your reasons. 

5. Imagine yourself a follower of the Young Pretender, and 

write an account of his invasion of England. 



WXII 

WINNING THE BRITISH EMPIRE 
(1754-1763) 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Nature of the struggles between England and Prance; causes o( 
their rivalry in America; war begins over the "territory on 
the Ohio'*; George Washington and l-'oii Duquesne; defeat 
of General Braddock. 

Origin of the "Seven Fears' War*' in Europe; allies of England 
and of Prance; how William Pitt saved England; Genera) 
Wolfe captures Quebec; all Canada conquered. 

The English and French in India; Clive defeats the French; the 
"Black Hole" of Calcutta; Clive's victory at Plassey; French 
influence in India destroyed. 

(dose of the war in Europe; George 111. abandons Frederick the 
Great; how Prussia was saved; 1011ns of the Peace of Paris; 
the British Empire established. 

Fob six or eight years following the War of the Austrian 

Succession, England and France were at peace. Hut 

the enmity between the two nations continued. 

French |M 

English They now understood that they wore really 
engaged in a world-wide struggle for colonial 

empire, for the mastery oi the seas, and for commercial 
supremacy. In whatever part of the world English 

colonists or merchants went, they found Frenchmen 
disputing the ground, and fighting often occurred 
between English and French sailors or settlers, 

England and France both had colonies in America 

the French in the valleys of the St. Lawrence and the 

Their Mississippi, and about the Great Fakes; and 

Fn°North tn€ English along the Atlantic coast, Virginia, 

America. Maryland, and the four New England 

Colonies (Massachusetts. Rhode Island. Connecticut, 

and New Hampshire) had been founded under James 1. 

274 



WINNING THE BRITISH EMPIRE 275 

and Charles I. New York, New Jersey, fin- Carolinas, 
Pennsylvania and Delaware were founded under 
Charles II. Georgia, the last of the thirteen English 
colonies, was established in the reign of George II. In 
addition Greai Britain possessed Nova Scotia. New- 
foundland, and lli*- Hudson Bay Territory 

The English came as permanent settlers, Mini their 
numbers increased rapidly. The French, in tin- main, 
came for tin- fur-trade only, and expected some day to 
return to their beloved France 



NEW ENGLAND and 

NEW FRANCE 

1755-1783 



fonil'lPSc'l 

Gulf of 




■--f MASSACHUSETTS'"^ /^ ,<$•" ^- 



u 'hamp. f 

ftmratogj I \ 









Philadelphia , Y 
\ /^dE^sev 




MAI' OF NEW ENGLAND AND NEW FRANCE 



The English colonists soon began to feel thai their 
boundaries were too narrow for them, and turned their 
gaze toward the greai unsettled valleys beyond the 
Appalachian mountains. They claimed these western 
lands on the ground that then- settlements on the coast 
gave them a right to the territory clear across the conti- 
nent. The French, on the other hand, claimed this 
territory on the ground thai their settlements about the 



276 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

mouths of the St. Lawrence and Mississippi gave tnem 
the right to all the country drained by these rivers. 

To support their claim, the French built a chain of 
forts connecting the Ohio river with the St. Lawrence, 
•<i\\<\ sent a message to the English colonists, saying that 
"France would permit no English settlements" on the 
Ohio. But the English government told the colonists 
that France "had not the least pretense of right to the, 
territory on the Ohio/' and ordered the colonial governors 
to drive out the French "whenever they are found within 
the undoubted limits of your provinces." 

The result was a struggle between the English and 
French in America, which in turn contributed to a 
War renewal of the war in Europe. The chief 

Amerlc^ °* tll( ' French forts was Fort Duquesne 
,1754) - at "the Forks of the Ohio," where the 
city of Pittsburgh now stands. The governor of the 
colony of Virginia sent a young Virginian, named George 
Washington, with a small body of troops, to prevent the 
building of this fort; but thev were unsuccessful, and 
were obliged to return home The next year (1755), 
General Braddoek was sent over, with British regular 
soldiers, and tried to capture Fort Duquesne. He 
marched carelessly through the forest, not heeding 
Washington's caution to beware of hidden French and 
Indians; so his troops were surprised and defeated, and 
he himself was slain. 

In Europe, meanwhile, the leading nations were 
drifting into war. Its chief cause was the desire of 
Austria to recover the lands which Frederick the Great 
had taken from her. To do this, she made a secret 
league with Russia and Saxony, to attack Prussia and to 
divide the Prussian territories. Frederick the Great 
learned through his spies of this agreement, and resolved 



to strike first. This he did, in 1756, by marching his 
army into Saxony; and thus the war began. 

England and France both entered into this European 

war. as usual, and on opposite sides. England now took 
the side of Prussia, because Austria would .. Seven 
not promise to protect Hanover; and France j^'Europe" 
was won over to the side of Austria, in spite < 1756 " 63 '- 
of the fact that France and Austria had been fighting 
each other for two hundred years. The war in Europe 
is known as "tic Seven Years' War," from the length of 
time that it lasted. The English colonists in America 
called it "the French and Indian War." Like the 
preceding one, this war was fought in Europe, in America, 
in India, and on the sea. The changes which it produced 
were among the greatest in history. 

During the first two years of the war, England accom- 
plished very little, either in Europe or in America. One 
of the English statesmen explained this by saying: 

"We first engaged in war, and then began to prepare 
ourselves." 

The government at this time was very badly managed. 
The Prime Minister was a fussy nobleman who owed his 
power entirely to his wealth and family influence, and 
not to any ability which he had. Men openly made fun 
of him, and said that he acted as if he " had lost a half- 
hour in the morning, and was running after it all the 
rest of the day." 

But there was one man in political life who had the 
ability, and the determination, and the patriotism, and 
the eloquence, to carry on the government 

1 • & , William 

properlv, if he onlv had the chance. This p»" saves 

1 I , England. 

was William Pitt, who afterward became 

Earl of Chatham. But Pitt did not belong to the threat 

noble families of England, and it was very rare for any 



278 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



man. at that time, to become Prime Minister unless he 
'belonged to this select governing- circle. Moreover, 
Pitt had angered George II. by opposing his plans for 
Hanover. 

Nevertheless, things went so badly, and the people 
demanded Pitt so loudly, that the King was at last 
obliged to yield, and to appoint him to the chief place in 
the government. 

"Sire, give me your confidence, " said Pitt, "and I 

will deserve it." 

" Deserve my confidence," 
replied the King, "and you 
shall have it." 

On both sides the promise 
was fully kept. Pitt had 
proudly said: 

" I know that I can save 
the country, and that no one 
else can." 

This spirit of self-confidence 
he succeeded in inspiring in 
others also. It was said that 
" no one ever entered Pitt's 
room who did not come out of it a braver man." He put 
his whole heart into his work, and soon stirred up all 
departments of the government to great activity. He 
appointed officers in the navy and army, not for favor 
or because of their family connections, but solely on 
account of their enerow and ability. Thus, he soon 
overcame the effects of other men's bad management, 
and began to win victories. 

In America, the turning point of the war came in 1759. 
The greatest stronghold of the French was at Quebec, 
on the St. Lawrence river; and against that place Pitt 




WILLIAM PITT, 
EARL OF CHATHAM 



WINNING THE BRITISH EMPIRE 279 



sent an expedition under General Wolfe, whom he chose 
in preference to older officers because he believed in the 
young man's ability. 

The French army, under Montcalm, were in a strong 
camj) below the city; and Wolfe tried in vain, for three 
months, to drive them from this position. At General 
last he determined to surprise the city, by Quebec akeS 
climbing the narrow paths up the rocky cliffs (1759 >- 

which led to the 
Heights of Abra- 
ham in its rear. At 
dead of night, and 
with the utmost 
secrecy, this was ac- 
complished. Next 
morning, Mont- 
calm saw that he 
must come out and 
fig lit, or the city 
would be taken. 

Both Wolfe and 
Montcalm lost their 
lives in the battle 
which followed. As 
AVolfe lay mortally 
wounded, on the 




GENERAL JAMES WOLF 



ground, he heard one of his officers cry out: 

"They run! See how they run!" 

" Who run ? " asked the dying hero, eagerly. 

"The enemy, sir," was the reply. "They give way 
everywhere." 

"Now God be praised," said Wolfe; "I will die in 
peace." 

In a few days, Quebec surrendered; and next year all 



280 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

of Canada passed into English hands. Fort Duquesne 
had been taken, and was re-named "Fort Pitt," in 
honor of England's great statesman. From Spain, 
which aided France, English fleets took Havana, in 
the island of Cuba, and the Philippine Islands, in the 
Far East. 

In India, also, the English fought the French during 
the great Seven Years' War. 

There, the East India Company, founded in Queen 

Elizabeth's time, had established three great trading 

ciive's posts — at Bombay. Madras, and Calcutta. 

i V nSia r,es ,n ^ na( ^ ' on & Deen forced to struggle against a 

(1751). Hval French company, whose agents were 
enlisting native soldiers, called "Sepoys," and building 
up a political power in that rich but un warlike land. 
In self-defence, the English company was obliged to do 
likewise. As a result of these rivalries, war followed, 
beginning in India, as it did in America, before it broke 
out in Europe. 

Fortunately for the English company, it had in its 
employ a young man named Robert Clive, who had gone 
to India as one of its clerks, but had exchanged the pen 
for the sword. Clive first won fame by marching a small 
body of English and Sepoys — through thunder, lightning, 
and rain — and seizing a fortress, which he held success- 
fully against the attacks of a much larger force, assisted 
by the French. When food ran short, during the siege, 
his Sepoys came to him and said: 

"Master, give us the water in which the rice is boiled. 
That is enough to feed us; the Europeans need the 
grain." 

This loyalty of the Sepoys, and his own skill and daring, 
enabled Clive to defeat the French, and to lay the founda- 
tions of the British rule in India. 



WINNING THE BRITISH EMPIRE 281 

His next important battle was fought against the 
"Nabob" (or ruler) of Bengal, whom the Freneh stirred 
up to seize Calcutta. With great cruelty, The Black 
this Nabob shut up one hundred and forty- Calcutta 
five Englishmen, and one English woman, in (1756 )- 
a close dungeon less than twenty feet square. When 
that dreadful summer night was past, only twenty- 
three of their number came out alive. The rest had 
perished, from lack of air, and crowding, in that terrible 
"Black Hole" of Calcutta. To punish the Nabob, 
Clive fought the battle of Plassey. With only one 
thousand Europeans and four thousand Sepoys, he 
defeated ten times their number of the Nabob's troops. 

This, and other victories, completely destroyed the 
French influence in India, and laid the foundations of an 
English power that has lasted until the present day. 
The Company grew enormously wealthy. Many of its 
officers returned to England, after their service in India, 
with fortunes which enabled them to live in great luxury. 
It was some time, however, before the Company began 
to add the control of the governments of India to its 
control of the trade. 

Meanwhile, in Europe, Frederick the Great was hard 
pressed. At first he won brilliant victories; but soon he 
was attacked by three countries at once, and Endo f th e 
his victories changed to defeats. Twice he % e ™£' war 
was in despair, and thought that all was lost. < 1763 »- 
Once Berlin, his capital, was captured. Each time he 
succeeded, somehow, in saving himself. But his resources 
were almost gone, and he was only able to continue the 
war because of the large sums of money which Pitt 
continued to send him, with the design of " conquering 
America in Germany." 

Just at this time (1760), King George II. of England 



INDIA 

illustrating growth of 
BRITISH TERRITORY 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



died, and his grandson, George III., came to the throne. 
George III. was an earnest and hardworking young man, 
but he was narrow-minded and obstinate. His mother 
had said to him, again and again, "George, be King"; 
and in order really to be King, he thought that he must 

throw off the in- 
fluence of the 
great Whig fami- 
lies, and manage 
the government 
himself. 

So, the chief 
power in the 
government w a s 
taken from Pitt, 
in spite of his 
great victories, 
and the payments 
to Frederick of 
Prussia were 
stopped. Fortu- 
nately for Fred- 
erick, Russia 
made peace at this 
time; and he was 







B British India □ 
Protected States .....Q 
Independent ....HI 

MAP OF INDIA 



against Austria until she also ^ave 



thus able to hold out 
up the struggle. He not merely saved his country from 
division among his enemies, but he succeeded in keeping 
the lands which he had taken in the former war. But 
he never forgave England for deserting him. 

Peace between England and France was made, at 
Paris, in 1763. England did not gain all that Pitt had 
hoped for, but her gain was very great indeed. In 
America she received from France all of Canada, and a 



WINNING THE BRITISH EMPIRE 283 

clear title to the country between the Appalachian 
Mountains and the Mississippi River. Spain was glad 
to buy hack Havana and the Philippines by giving her 
Florida. In India, although the French retained a few 
trading points, the supremacy of the English was thence- 
forth recognized. 

Largely as a result of Pitt's efforts. Great Britain thus 
became one of the most powerful countries of the world. 
Half of North America was subject to her, ^ 

J , The British 

and she had planted her power in India. Her Empire es- 

1 L , tablished. 

warships controlled the seas, and her trading 
vessels passed to and fro to the ends of the earth. By 
exploration and settlement she added Australia, and 
the two great islands of New Zealand, to her domin- 
ions; and early in the nineteenth century she took South 
Africa from the Dutch, in war. and made the beginnings 
of another great group of colonies there 

Through good fortune, the enterprise and daring of 
her people, and the foresight of men like William Pitt, 
there were thus laid the foundations of the greatest 
dominions that the world has ever seen, under a single 
rule — the modern British Empire, whose proud boast is, 
that "on its lands the sun never sets " 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Why was Prance England's chief enemy in the eighteenth 

century .' 

2. Tell the story of P.raddock's defeat. 

.",. Write a brief account of William Pitt, of General James 

Wolfe, <.f Robert ('live. 
■[. Read a brief account of Frederick the Great and his wars 
5. Describe India as it was in the time of the Seven Years' War. 



XXXTII 

GEORGE III. AND THE AMERICAN 
REVOLUTION 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Dates of George IIL's reign; his character; why Pitt resigned; 
the party of the ''King's friends"; purpose of George III. 

The case of John Wilkes; action of Parliament against him; 
outcome of the struggle; why the people sympathized with 
Wilkes; Edmund Burke attacks the corrupt influence of the 
Crown. 

Condition of England's colonies in America; why England passed 
the Stamp Act; its repeal; the "Boston Massacre"; the 
"Boston Tea-Party"; War of the American Ke volution begins. 

Attitude of the English people towards the war; Pox and Pitt 
oppose the war; independence declared; course of the war; 
Prance aids the colonies; death of Pitt; CornwalJis sur- 
renders; terms of the peace of 1783; what England learned 
from the war. 

George III. came to the throne in 1760, and reigned 

until 1820. His reign covered a period of sixty years. 

Reign and which is longer than any other English 

character t ° ^ ° . 

of George sovereign has ruled, except Queen Victoria. 
(1760-1820). It was a very important reign because in it 
occurred many great changes. 

Unlike George I. and George II., who were more 
German than English, George III. took a deep interest 
in British affairs. In his first speech to Parliament, he 
said: 

" Born and educated in this country, I glory in the 
name of Briton." 

Unfortunately, his mother and his teachers had filled 
his mind with the idea that he must really rule as well as 
reign — that is, that he must impose his own will upon the 
government, rather than be guided by the heads of the 

284 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 



285 



great Whig families who ruled Parliament. If he had 
been a strong and wise man, this might have been an 
improvement. But although he was a good man, he 
was rather dull, and stupid, and very obstinate; and 
during the latter part of his reign he was insane most of 
the time. The result was that, as a great historian of 

England says: "He inflicted 
more profound and enduring 
injuries upon his country than 
any other modern English 
King. He spent a long life in 
obstinately resisting measures 
which are now almost uni- 
versally admitted to have 
been good, and in supporting 
measures which are as uni- 
versally admitted to have 
been bad." 

When Pitt, who had won 
such victories for England 
against France, found that 
his advice was no longer 
followed, he resigned his 
office, saying: 

" I will not be responsible 

for measures which I am no 

longer allowed to guide." 

The Tories, who before had longed for a King of the 

Stuart line, gave their support to George III. The 

King also built up, in the House of Com- 

1 Party of 

►arty of "the King's friends," upon l ,t i h |;£ l " g,s 
could rely. To those who promised 
to support him, and to their friends, he gave rich offices; 

giving them profitable 




GEORGE III. 

Ladies and gentlemen then pow- 
dered their hair with 
white powder 



mons, a 
whom he 



Some members were bought by 



286 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

contracts for government supplies. Others were bribed 
outright, with gifts of money. In the elections to the 
House of Commons the King used all his influence, to 
see that persons who would support his measures were 
elected. 

All this was according to the evil practice of that time; 
but it was a new thing for the King to build up support 
by this means. It enabled him to get a party in the 
House of Commons which was numerous enough to 
make its support necessary to any ministry. When it 
suited the King's pleasure, his "friends" in the Commons 
voted against his own ministers, so that he became their 
master in fact as well as in name. George III. was like 
Charles L, in his desire to rule according to his own will. 
Unlike Charles, however, he did not attempt to override 
Parliament, but controlled it by corrupting its members. 
One of King George's great mistakes was in urging his 
ministers to prosecute a Whig member of Parliament 
Attempt named John Wilkes. In No. 45 of a maga- 
john n ' sh zme which he published, Wilkes had declared 
wiikes. jjjgj a passage about the peace with France, 
in the King's speech to Parliament was false. Everyone 
knew that it was the practice for the ministers to write 
the speeches made by the King, but George III. took 
Wilkes's statement as an attack upon himself. Wilkes 
was accordingly arrested, but in such a way that the 
court released him, on the ground that the arrest was 
illegal. 

At the next session of Parliament, the House of 
Commons expelled Wilkes, and caused a copy of No. 45 
of his magazine to be burned by the hangman. Wilkes 
now fled from England, and for four years lived in 
France. When the next elections to Parliament took 
place he returned, and was elected from Middlesex, the 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 287 

county in which London is situated. The people showed 
that thev were on his side by chalking the figures 
"45" everywhere — on street doors, on carriages, and 
even on the boot soles of the Austrian ambassador, 
whom they dragged from his carriage for that purpose. 
Benjamin Franklin, who was then in England, said 
that there was scarcely a house within fifteen miles 
of London that did not have this number marked 
upon it. 

Still, Wilkes was not allowed to take his seat in Parlia- 
ment. The House of Commons again expelled him; and 
when he was again elected they declared that he should 
never be capable of sitting in that body. However, 
in the end, Wilkes was victorious. Some years 
later he was permitted to take his seat; and then, 
nearly twenty years after the struggle first began, the 
House of Commons erased from its journals all the 
votes which it had passed against him. It was not 
because of his character that Wilkes triumphed, for he 
was a man of bad character. It was because he 
opposed the arbitrary acts of George III.'s government, 
and because he stood for personal liberty and the free- 
dom of the press. 

These were not the only complaints that the people 
had against the government. Meetings were held 
to protest against the corrupt means bv Edmund 

1 ° " Burke 

which the King secured support in Parlia- attacks the 

TTTi • govern- 

ment. In 1780, a great Whig orator, ment. 

named Edmund Burke, introduced a bill to abolish 

a large number of useless offices, and to reduce the 

amount of money which the King's government 

might spend without giving an account of it. His 

object was to make it less easy for the King to corrupt 

Parliament. The bill was not passed, at this time. 



288 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

But the discussion of it resulted in the passage of a 
resolution, in the House of Commons, which declared 
that— 

"The influence of the Crown has increased, is increas- 
ing, and ought to be diminished." 

Two years later, another reform bill, based on the 
same principles as that which Burke had introduced, 
passed the House of Commons, and became law. 

In spite of "the King's friends" George III. had lost 
a great share of that arbitrary power which he had built 
up so carefully. In part, this was due to his action against 
Wilkes; but it was due in a still larger part to the unwise 
measures by which, meanwhile, he lost the Thirteen 
American Colonies. 

The Seven Years' War had freed the American colonies 

from their French enemies, and given them a great 

condition western country into which their settlements 

American <-*ould spread. It had also given them a knowl- 

coionies. eo V e of their own strength, and loosened the 

ties which bound them to the mother country. With the 

danger of French attack removed, they had no further 

need of British protection. The French Minister saw 

this, and, soon after the close of the war, he said: 

"England will, one day, call upon her colonies to con- 
tribute towards supporting the burdens which they have 
helped to bring upon her; and they will answer by making 
themselves independent." 

The colonies had mines of iron and coal, forests, 
navigable rivers, and excellent harbors, and were fitted 
by nature not only for agriculture, but also for manu- 
factures and commerce. Many people, therefore, 
engaged in the building of ships and in trade. England's 
treatment of its colonies was very much better than that 
which any other country gave its colonies at this time, 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 289 

and even sueh laws as did limit their commerce were, 
for a long time, allowed to remain unenforced. Thus 
the colonies flourished, and grew strong:. 

But, after the war with France, the ministers adopted 
a new policy. They determined to enforce the old trade 
laws, which were intended mainly for the benefit of the 
British merchants, and not for the benefit of the colonists. 
They also proposed to leave some troops permanently 
in America for the defence of the colonies and called 
upon Parliament to tax the colonies to support the 
troops, and to help pay the cost of government there. 

Parliament accordingly passed a Stamp Act for the 
colonies, like that still in force in Great Britain. This 
provided that every legal paper written in the Attempt to 
colonies should be on stamped paper, to be stamp tax 
bought from the government; and that every (1765) - 
newspaper must be printed on stamped paper. At best, 
this act would not have raised much revenue; and, as 
it was, the people in the colonies made a great outcry 
against it. They refused to use the stamped paper; they 
held meetings to protest against it; and they sent repre- 
sentatives to a "Stamp Act Congress," at New York, 
which declared that "taxation without representation 
is tyranny." 

Many of the leading Whigs in England also opposed 
the Stamp Act. When the colonists refused to allow the 
stamped paper to be sold, Pitt said: 

"I rejoice that America has resisted." 

The next year there was a change in the ministry, and 
the Stamp Act was repealed. But, at the same time, 
Parliament declared that it had power to make laws for 
the colonies "in all cases whatsoever." Pitt and Burke 
opposed this declaration, not because they believed that 
Parliament did not have such power, but because they 



290 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

thought that this declaration would only anger the 

colonists. 

Soon after this, Parliament passed another law, which 

laid tariff duties on several kinds of goods, including tea, 
The when brought into the colonies. The colonists 

U^lo^lL" resisted this law also, and formed associations 

JV1 3SSaC iC 

(1770). which pledged themselves not to use any goods 

on which the tax had been paid. Little by little the 
trouble grew, until some British troops in Boston, who 
were attacked by a mob, fired upon the crowd and killed 
several persons. This was the famous "Boston Mas- 
sacre," — the first blood shed in the quarrel. 

In 1773 a special effort was made to collect the tax 

on tea, and several shiploads were sent over, at a cheap 

price, to tempt the colonists to buv. Almost 

The "Bos- 1 \ ; 

ton Tea- everywhere, they refused to take the tea. At 

Party." 

Boston, there occurred the famous " Boston 
Tea-Party," when a number of men, disguised as Indians, 
boarded the tea-ships and threw the tea into the harbor. 
Of this, the American poet, Oliver Wendell Holmes, 
humorously wrote: 

"No! ne'er was mingled such a draught 
In palace, hall, or arbor, 
As freemen brewed and tyrants quaffed 
That night in Boston harbor! 



"Fast spread the tempest's darkening pall, 
The mighty realms were troubled, 
The storm broke loose — but first of all 
The Boston tea-pot bubbled ! * * 

To punish Boston, its port was closed — that is, ships 
were forbidden to land goods there, and its trade was 
stopped. The Massachusetts charter was taken away, 
and a military governor was placed over the colony. 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 291 

These acts not only angered Boston, but aroused the 
other colonies. In 1774, they came together, at Phila- 
delphia, in the First Continental Congress, to form a 
united resistance. 

War broke out between the mother country and 
the rebellious colonies next year, when a small body of 
British troops was sent from Boston to Warwith 
capture some ammunition which the colonists ^| s C 5eg" U n 
had collected at Concord. At Lexington they (1775) - 
were met by American '"minute men," and several of 
the Americans were killed. The troops kept on to 
Concord, and destroyed the ammunition. But a larger 
body of minute men quickly gathered, and there, at 
Concord bridge, as the poet Emerson says: 

"The embattled farmers stood 
And fired the shot heard 'round the world." 

On the return, the minute men lined the stone walls 
along the road, from behind which they fired upon the 
wearied troops. Next day, the whole country rose. 
Boston was besieged; men flocked in from the neighboring 
colonies; and soon George Washington was sent by the 
Continental Congress as commander-in-chief of the 
American forces. The war of the American Revolution 
had at last begun. 

The people of Great Britain generally supported their 
government in its policy. Edward Gibbon, The British 
a great historian and member of Parliament, theS°gov- 
wrote before the war broke out: ernment 

"I am more and more convinced that we have both 
the right and the power on our side. We are now arrived 
at the decisive moment of persevering, or of losing forever 
both our trade and empire." 

After the fighting had begun, he wrote: "I have not 
the courage to write about America. The boldest 



292 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

tremble, and the most vigorous talk of peace. And yet 
not more than sixty-five rank and file have been killed." 
And again: "The conquest of America is a great work; 
every part of the continent is either lost or useless." 

On the other hand, Charles James Fox, who was now 

one of the great leaders of the Whig party, never lost an 

opportunity of showing his sympathy for the 

leaders American cause, and rejoicing at its victories. 

oppose it. m jo 

He and his little band of followers adopted as 
their colors those which Washington made the uniform 
of the Continental army — buff and blue. 

W 7 hen the British government hired Hessian soldiers 
for America, the great Pitt said : 

"You cannot conquer America. If I were an Amer- 
ican, while a foreign troop was landed in my country, I 
never would lay down my arms — never, never, never!" 

At first, the American colonists fought only for relief 

from oppressive laws and had no intention of seeking 

independence. But gradually their ideas 

Indepen- r ° ^ 

dence grew larger, and on July 4, 1776, the Con- 

declared. fe . , i i 

tinental Congress adopted a Declaration of 
Independence. After giving the reasons for their separa- 
tion, this document declared that — 

"These united colonies are, and of right ought to be, 
free and independent states." 

It was a hard struggle upon which the colonists had 

embarked. They drove the British from Boston, but 

were themselves driven out of New York 

fhe u war? f City. Then the British captured Philadelphia, 

and made ready to separate New England 

from the other colonies by sending an army under 

General Burgoyne up the Hudson, to meet one which 

was to come down from Canada. Fortunately for the 

American cause, this attempt failed, and Burgoyne was 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 293 

obliged to surrender his 7,000 men at Saratoga, in 
October, 1777. 

This was a great victory for the Americans. Neverthe- 
less, their army spent the next winter at Valley Forge, in 
Pennsylvania, amid terrible hardships. General Wash- 
ington, who never spoke carelessly, said that many of his 
men were " without clothes to cover their nakedness, 
without blankets to lie on, without shoes, for the want of 
which their marches might be traced by the blood from 
their feet." Unless help came from abroad, the colonies 
would surely be conquered. 

But help did come. The French had long been watch- 
ing for an opportunity to take revenge upon their old 
enemy, England. They had secretly helped 
the Americans, before this, by sending them aids the 

° colonies. 

money and supplies, and by letting French 
officers, like Lafayette, come over to assist them. The 
victory over Burgoyne now encouraged the French 
government to come out openly, in aid of the colonists; 
and, in 1778, a treaty was made, by which France 
recognized the independence of the United States, and 
agreed to renew her war with great Britain. More money 
and supplies were sent to the Americans, and French 
soldiers and French fleets came to their assistance. The 
next year Spain also made war upon Great Britain; and, 
two years after that, Holland did likewise. 

In England, the news of Burgoyne's surrender was for 
a time helpful to the government. Instead of discour- 
aging the people, it made them more determined than 
ever to subdue the colonies. But the news of the alliance 
between France and the colonies caused a change. Pitt 
proposed that the soldiers should be called back from 
America, that the colonies should be allowed to have 
their way in everything except out-and-out independence, 



294 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

and that the two parts of the Empire should then unite 
in a common war against France. 

Many people at this time demanded that Pitt should 

be restored to power. But he was now an old man, 

suffering from a painful disease. One day 

Death of ( in m8 ) he had himself carried to the House 

of Lords, of which he was now a member as 

Earl of Chatham; and he spoke passionately against a 

motion to grant independence to America. He was 

opposed, he said, to "the dismemberment of this ancient 

and noble monarchy." The effort was too much for him, 

and he fell senseless to the floor. He was carried to his 

home, and four weeks later he died. Perhaps it was well 

that he did not live to see the dismemberment of the great 

empire which his genius had contributed so much to build. 

In 1780, the British changed the seat of war and 

attacked the southern colonies. After much fighting, 

Lord Cornwallis, who was at the head of their 

Cornwallis . . 

surrenders army marched north into Virginia, and took up 
a position at Yorktown, on Chesapeake Bay. 
Here he was surrounded by a French, and American land 
force, under Washington. A French fleet succeeded in 
beating off the British fleet, and Cornwallis was forced 
to surrender (October, 1781). This was the second 
great disaster which the British experienced in this war. 
When news of Cornwallis's surrender reached Lord 
North, the head of the ministry, he threw up his arms 
and cried: "It is all over!" 

It was, indeed, the real end of the war, so far as 

America was concerned. For a time, fighting continued 

between the British fleets and those of France, 

P e 8 a 3 ceof Holland, and Spain. But, in 1783, a peace 

was made, at Paris, between all parties. 

England gave up some territory to France — an island in 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 295 

the West Indies, and some African coast lands; while 
to Spain she surrendered Florida. Most important of 
all, she acknowledged the independence of the United 
States. The boundaries of the new nation were to be 
Canada and the Great Lakes on the north, the Missis- 
sippi river on the west, and Florida on the south. 

At the beginning of the war, Great Britain possessed, 
in America, not only what her own colonists had 
founded, but also what she had taken from France, and 
from Spain, in 1763. Now, she was left with Canada 
alone — a vast and important domain, but cold and 
inhospitable. 

The loss of the American colonies seemed, at the time, 
a great calamity. But the British Empire has become 
greater and more powerful, since the separation, than it 
ever was before; and in America there has developed a 
great nation, of kindred speech and institutions. 

England learned many lessons from this war. One of 
these was how to rule colonies without oppressing them, 
and so to keep them a source of strength. Another and 
greater lesson was this: that the government must obey 
the will of the people, and not that of the King. The 
war not only brought independence to the American 
colonies; it formed an important step, also, in the pro- 
cess by which greater political liberty was gained by the 
people of Great Britain. 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Compare George III. with George I. and George II.; in what 

ways were the latter better Kings than the former? 

2. Find out what you can about Edmund Burke; about Charles 

James Fox. 

3. Make a list of the causes of the American Revolution. 

4. Y\ ere Fox and Pitt patriotic when they sympathized with the 

Americans? How can you justify their course? 

5. Make a list of the territories that England gained and those 

that she lost between 1689 and 1783. 



XXXIV 
INDUSTRIAL AND SOCIAL CHANGES 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Ancient method of spinning; the inventions of Hargreaves, Ark- 
wright, and Crompton; Dr. Cartwright invents the power 
loom; water power at first used; Watt invents the steam 
engine; improvements in iron making. 

Change from the ' ' domestic system ' ' to the ' ' factory system ' ' of 
manufacturing; changes in means of transportation — "mac- 
adamized ' ' roads and canals. 

Changes in dress and in ways of living; rise of the "Metho- 
dists"; labors of John and Charles Wesley, and of Whitefield; 
results of these changes. 

While Great Britain was winning Canada and India, 
and losing the Thirteen Colonies, important changes 
were taking place at home in ways of manufacturing 
and in modes of living. 

From the early days of civilization, to the end of the 
Middle Ages, there had been little change in the tools 
used by such workers as the spinner and weaver, the 
farmer and carpenter. Now there came a series of 
inventions which greatly increased the product of man's 
labor, and changed his whole manner of living. 

The first important changes came in spinning and 

weaving. The art of spinning fibers into thread, and 

weaving this into cloth, was one of the oldest 

New inven- ° 

tions in of human arts. But, for thousands of years, 

spinning. m t ** 

it had changed very little. The wool or cotton 
was placed on a " distaff," held under the left arm, while 
the fibers were drawn out and twisted into thread with 
a "spindle," twirled by the right hand. This was the 
method used in ancient Greece and Egypt, as shown by 

296 



INDUSTRIAL AND SOCIAL CHANGES 29' 



their monuments. This was still the method generally 
used in modern Europe, almost down to the eighteenth 
century. Then the "spinning-wheel" — first run by 
hand, and later by foot — began to come into use, and 
increased the speed of spinning. But, at best, the 
spinning wheel could only spin two threads at a time, 
and its work was far from rapid. 

All this was changed, in the second half of the eigh- 
teenth century. First, an ignorant but ingenious man, 
named James Hargreaves, invented a machine which he 

called a " spin- 
ning j e n n y . " 
This drove eight 
spindles, and (in 
later forms) even 
eighty spindles, 
at the same time. 
This invention 
| alone caused an 
Z enormous in- 
crease in the 
amount of 
thread s p u n ; 
but the changes 
did not stop 
here. Soon a man named Richard Arkwright invented 
another sort of spinning machine, which he called 
a " water-frame," because it was run by water-power 
and not by hand power. Then Samuel Crompton 
had the happy thought to combine the best features of 
the "jenny" and the "water-frame," into a machine 
which he called "the mule," because of its mixed char- 
acter. 

When these improvements were fully completed, it 




HAND SPINNING WHEEL 



298 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



became possible for a single person — even a little child — - 

to attend to a number of machines, and to spin as high as 

twelve thousand threads at a time. In this way, far more 

thread was manufactured than the old hand looms could 

weave into cloth. 

If you examine a piece of cloth, you will see that it is 

made up of two sets of threads, crossing each other at 

right angles. The threads running length- 
New inven- . . 
tions in wise are called the " warp." and those running 

weaving. t l ° 

crosswise are callell the "weft." In the old 
hand loom the shuttle, which carries the weft, was 
thrown back and forth across the warp by hand. Two 
men were necessary to operate the loom, one throwing 
the shuttle from one 
side, and the other 
throwing it back. The 
first improvement in 
this method of weav- 
ing was made in" 1 738, 
when a "flying shut- 
tle" was invented 
which returned of it- 
self to the weaver, 
without the help of 

a second person. As the new improvements in spinning 
began to come into effect, and the amount of thread 
spun increased so enormously, men began to feel 
that further changes in weaving were necessary. A 
clergyman, named Dr. Cartwright, showed what these 
might be. 

" Why does not someone," he asked one day, of some 
gentlemen with whom he was talking. " invent a loom 
which can be run by water or steam-power?" 

"It can't be done," they all replied, very positively. 




SPINNING JENNY 



INDUSTRIAL AND SOCIAL CHANGES 299 

" I am sure thai it can be done/' replied Dr. Cart- 
wright; and he set to work to prove it. 

lie had never invented anything, and lie had never 
seen a loom in operation. But, in three years* time, he 
produced a power loom which really wove cloth, in a 
rude and clumsy fashion. Bv later inventions, he greatly 
improved this first effort, so that it became the father of 
all the great cloth-weaving looms of later times. With 
the power loom, weavers became able to keep up with 
the spinners, and cloth became much cheaper and more 
plentiful than it had ever been before. 

At first, the looms were run by water power, which had 
been used for ages to run flour and grist mills. But 
water power was very uncertain, for the amount of 
water in the streams changed with the seasons ; more- 
over, it was not to be had at all places. Fortunately, 
it was not long before the steam engine was invented, to 
aid not only spinning and weaving, but the countless 
other operations of modern life to which machinery was 
soon applied. 

For nearly two thousand years men had known of the 
expansive power of steam; but it was not until the 
beginning of the eighteenth century that this Ini 
force was made practically useful, in the form 
of a steam pump for pumping water out of en £ |ne - 
mines. The illustration on page 300 shows the form of 
this crude engine. The steam entered a "cylinder" 
under the "piston-head," and thus raised the cross-beam. 
The top of the cylinder was open, and when the steam 
under the piston-head was sufficiently condensed by 
cooling, the pressure of the air above forced back the 
piston, and all was ready for another stroke. The 
troubles with this early steam engine were chiefly these: 
it was very slow and weak in its action; it wasted a great 



ivention 
of the 
steam 



300 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



amount of steam, and so used up much fuel: and it could 
only work in one direction. 

The real inventor of the modern steam engine was 
James Watt, a maker of mathematical and astronomical 
instruments. While repairing a model of one of these 




EARLY STEAM ENGINE, FOR PUMPING 



early steam pumps, he noticed its waste of steam, and set 
to work to remedy it. It would take too long to describe 
all of the changes which he made. It is enough to say 
that his first changes made the steam engine quick- 
working, powerful, and saving of fuel ; but it was 



INDUSTRIAL AND SOCIAL CHANGES 301 

still useful only for pumping. His later inventions, 
however, enabled it to turn a wheel, and so adapted it to 
all kinds of work. In 1785, the steam engine was first 
applied to running spinning machinery, and its use 
spread rapidly. By the end of the eighteenth century, 
there were as many steam engines in use in England as 
there were water and wind mills. 

But engines and machinery are largely made of iron, 
and, until the latter part of the eighteenth century, iron 
was scarce and costly. So all these inventions would 
have been of little use if it had not been for improve- 
ments in the manufacture of iron and steel. 

For ages iron ore had been "smelted" — that is, 
melted and freed of its impurities — by mixing it with 
burning charcoal. But the forests of England, Improve . 
from which the charcoal was made, were ™o" ts m 
decreasing rapidly, and it was clear that little makin £- 
increase could be made in the amount of iron produced, 
as long as charcoal was used as the fuel. It was found, 
however, that the smelting could be done just as well, 
and much cheaper, by using coke, made from ordinary 
coal; and the supply of coal was abundant. At the same 
time, the bellows, which fanned the fire and made it 
burn with sufficient heat, were replaced by other inven- 
tions which gave a stronger and steadier draft; and 
improvements were also made in the tools for hammering 
out the iron for wrought iron, and in casting it. Further- 
more, Watt's improved engines benefited mining, by 
making it easier and cheaper to pump out water, and so 
to operate deep mines. From year to year these improve- 
ments have gone steadily on, and the result is that the 
supply of this necessary metal has constantly become 
more plentiful and cheap, as the increased use of 
machinery has created new demands for it. 



302 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

Important changes were also made in the conditions 
under which manufacturing was done. Formerly, manu- 
facturing was carried on under the "domestic system" 
— that is, each workman (a weaver, or the like), set up 
his own tools, in his own house, used materials which 
he himself paid for; then when his goods were made he 
sold them to the dealers, and received the price for 
them himself. He was his own employer, and suppled 
his own capital; he worked when he pleased, and how he 
pleased ; and his wife and children assisted him. Ordi- 
narily, too, he had a garden, or little farm, which he 
cultivated ; and so he was not dependent for his living 
entirely on his manufacturing. 

The new inventions caused the "factory system" to 

take the place of the "domestic system." Machines in 

* ._ large numbers were now brought together 

Rise of the & . 

factory under the roof of one "factorv," in order to 

system. 

take advantage of the steam or water power; 
and these were the property of an "employer" who hired 
people for " wages" to run them. The employer supplied 
the materials, and received the manufactured goods, 
which he sold as he pleased. The work people had to 
move to the crowded towns, where usually the factories 
were situated, and so they could no longer have their 
gardens. In these ways, the working people became 
more dependent on their employers, and the problems 
of "labor" and "lack of employment" first began to 
arise. The fact that women, and little children often 
only six years old, were hired for a great deal of the 
work, and that they were forced to labor long hours, in 
dark, close, and unhealthy rooms, gave rise to additional 
problems, which by and by demanded solution. 

With these changes in manufacturing, there came also 
changes in the means of transportation. 



INDUSTRIAL AND SOCIAL CHANGES 303 

Down to the eighteenth century, the means of travel and 
transportation remained just about what they were in the 
most ancient days — except that the roads changes in 
were often worse than they had been under the l T *l e ** n r d 
Roman Empire. Half of the year, the only tation - 
means of travel was on horseback, because of the mud- 
holes with which the roads were filled. Heavy articles — 
such as grain, coal, iron, and the like — could scarcely 
be carried from place to place; and often scarcity, or 




STAGE COACH 



famine, might prevail in one district, while another 
district had more than enough, but could not get its 



produce to market. About the year 1640, stage coaches 
came into use in England, but often it took three weeks 
for one of these to go from London to Edinburgh. 

In the last half of the eighteenth century, improvement 
began through the "turnpike" roads, which were kept 
in repair with the money collected as "tolls" from those 
who used them. Better methods of road-making were 



304 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

introduced by skilled engineers. The most noted of 
these was a Scotchman, named MacAdam, whose name 
is still remembered in our " macadamized " roads. 
These roads made possible the use of carriages all the 
year round, while new "fast mail coaches" were estab- 
lished to run between the chief parts of England, in what 
then seemed like an incredibly short time. Canals were 
also built, which greatly cheapened the cost of carrying 
such bulky goods as coal and iron. It was not until the 
next century that the steam railroad and the steamboat 
were introduced; but already changes were being pro- 
duced by these improvements, which were only a little 
less important than those which the railroad brought. 
"It is scarcely half a century," says a writer of this 
time, "since the inhabitants of the distant counties were 
. regarded as almost as different from those of 

Changes in ° 

ways of the capital as the natives of the Cape of Good 

living. L L 

Hope. Their manners, as well as their speech, 
were entirely provincial; and their dress no more resem- 
bled that of London than the Turkish or Chinese. A 
journey into the country was then considered almost as 
great an undertaking as a voyage to the Indies. The old 
family coach was sure to be stowed with all sorts of 
luggage and provisions; and, perhaps, in the course of 
the journey a whole village, together with their teams, 
might be called on to aid in digging the heavy carriage 
out of the clay. But now the improvements in traveling 
have opened a new communication between the capital 
and the most distant parts of the kingdom. The manners, 
fashions, and amusements of the capital now make their 
way to the remotest corners of the land. French cooks 
are employed, the same wines are drunk, the same 
gaining practiced, the same hours kept, and the same 
course of life pursued, in the country as in town. Every 



INDUSTRIAL AND SOCIAL CHANGES 305 

male and female wishes to think and speak, to eat and 
drink, and dress and live after the manner of people of 
quality in London." 

One result of the introduction of machinery was to 
increase the wealth, and hence the importance, of the 
tradesmen and manufacturers. The old aristocratic 
organization of society, which regarded certain persons 




SCENE IN A FARMHOUSE KITCHEN 
Showing life in the eighteenth century 



as better than others merely because of their better birth, 
began to give way, and a democratic influence began to 
be felt. The working classes profited, in the end, not 
merely in better clothes and better food and better 
lodging, but in better education and more political 
rights. But these changes came only gradually, and 
mostly after the eighteenth century had passed. 



306 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

Simpler modes of dress and of life, however, came 
before the century was out. Gentlemen began to leave 
off wearing the sword, and the powdered wigs which 
once they all wore. Cocked hats went out of fashion, 
and pantaloons took the place of knee-breeches. 
Umbrellas were introduced. From about 1750, pianos 
began to appear in the houses of the wealthy. The better 
classes of tradesmen ceased to live over their stores, and 
the apprentices were no longer lodged with their masters. 
Men's dress generally became less showy than it had been. 
Women's costumes became more brilliantly colored and 
finer, as a result of the new calicoes and other dress 
goods, which could now be easily and cheaply obtained. 
In general, the last twenty years of the eighteenth 
century and the first twenty years of the nineteenth saw 
greater changes in dress and manners than for two 
centuries before. 

Deeper than any change in dress and manners was a 

change in religion, which came in the middle and latter 

changes in P art °f ^ s century. This was due to the rise 

tne g MeTfa- of the " Methodists " (as they were called) , first 

odists. w ithi n the established Church of England, 

and then as a separate church denomination. Unlike 

most of the other changes related in this chapter, the rise 

of the Methodists had little connection with the rise of 

manufactures. It began at the University of Oxford, 

and was a reaction against the lifeless preaching and 

worldly lives of so many of the English clergy, who 

thought more of horses, hounds, and hunting than they 

did of their religious duties. 

The chief leaders in this movement were two brothers — 
John and Charles Wesley — and their friend, George 
Whitefield. They preached to the common people, in 
the mining and manufacturing towns, and in the great 



INDUSTRIAL AND SOCIAL CHANGES 30? 

cities, urging them to forsake evil ways and reform their 
lives. At times, crowds of twenty thousand persons 
gathered in the open air, to hear them. So earnest were 
the preachers, and so vividly did they picture the terrors 
of the hereafter, that men, women, and children would 
be seized with fits of trembling and shouting, and fall 
down in convulsions. 

John Wesley was the head of the movement. 
Charles Wesley was its poet, and wrote many hymns for 
it. Whitefield was even a greater preacher than the 
Wesleys. During thirty-four years, he preached on the 
average ten times a week. Twelve times he went on 
preaching trips through Scotland, three times through 
Ireland, and seven times he visited America. The results 
of his labors in the American colonies were almost as 
notable as in the British Isles. 

In England, the Methodist movement was strongly 
opposed by the clergy and upper classes, and also 
at times by mobs of the common people. But in the 
end it won a great success. When John Wesley 
died, in 1791, his followers numbered 100,000. His 
influence, too, had aroused the established church to 
greater earnestness and more spiritual religion. And 
all classes, as a result of these labors, came to have 
more sympathy for the oppressed, which showed itself 
in movements to improve the condition of prisoners in 
the jails, and to stop the trade in slaves. 

The inventions spoken of in this chapter were all first 
worked out in Great Britain, and the changes which 
they produced are often spoken of as the Resultsof 
"Industrial Revolution." It was important ^se^ 
that it should be accompanied by the great 
moral and religious revolution described above. The 
immediate effect of the Industrial Revolution was very 



308 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

greatly to increase the wealth and power of England. 
Her cheap machine-made goods enabled England to 
undersell all other countries. She soon became the first 
manufacturing country, as she was already the first 
country in the amount of her commerce. Her population 
also increased rapidly. In 1700, England had only 
5,000,000 inhabitants; in 1760, there were 6,000,000; in 
1800, the number had risen to 9,000,000. 

It was chiefly the wealth and power which Great 
Britain gained from her newly arisen manufactures 
which prevented her feeling the loss of her American 
colonies; and it was from this source that she gained the 
strength which enabled her to resist Napoleon Bonaparte, 
and finally bring about his overthrow. 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Find out what you can of James Ilargreaves; of James Watt. 

2. Imagine yourself a boy or a girl in the days when spinning 

and weaving machinery was being introduced, and describe 
the changes. 

3. Which did most for England, statesmen like Walpole and 

Pitt, or inventors like Eargreaves and Watt, or reformers 
like Wyclif and the Wesleys? Give your reasons. 

4. Find out what vou can of John Wesley and his work. 



XXXV 

ENGLAND AND THE FRENCH 
REVOLUTION 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Causes of the French Revolution; execution of the King; reasons 
why England went To war with Prance; victories of Napoleon 
Bonaparte over England's allies; England protected by her 
seas. 

England's victory at Cape St. Vincent; Napoleon invades Egypt; 
Nelson wins the Battle of the Nile; Napoleon made Emperor; 
French and Spanish fleets destroyed at Trafalgar; death of 
Nelson; death of William Pitt, the younger; what he did as 
Prime Minister. 

Napoleon 's ' ' Continental System ' ' ; revolt of Spain against 
French rule; Wellington aids Spain in the "Peninsular War"; 
Napoleon's defeat in Russia; uprising of Europe againsl 
Napoleon; he is overthrown, but returns from Elba; Battle 
of Waterloo; final overthrow of Napoleon. 

England's War of 1812 with the United States; increase of the 
British Empire; new problems for England. 

The last and greatest of the wars of England against 
France grew out of the French Revolution, in which the 
people of that country put to death their King, set up a 
republic, and sought to extend their principles to other 
countries. 

The common people, in France, were not so badly off 
as were the peoples of Germany and the countries of 
eastern Europe, but their lot was worse than Causesof 
in England. In the towns, the old "guilds," f„ t e j* n e In" 
or companies of workers, controlled the dif- France - 
ferent industries, and the introduction of machinery 
had scarcely begun. In the country, the peasants were 
burdened with many payments and services which were 
absent in England. The nobles and clergy paid almost 

309 



310 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



no taxes, while the "third estate" (as the common people 
were called) paid very heavy ones. 

"I should be lost," said one peasant who had managed 
to get together a little property, "if it were suspected 
that I am not dying of hunger." 

But. while the government took so much from the 
people, it gave them very little in return. The money 
was wasted on the foolish pleasures of the King and his 
court, in useless wars, and in reckless gifts and pensions 
to the great nobles. The 
King imprisoned people at 
his pleasure, and there was 
nothing like the English sys- 
tem of trial by jury to safe- 
guard personal liberty. His 
power was absolute, and there 
was no assembly like the 
English Parliament to vote 
taxes and check his will. 

Not content with the 
proceeds of heavy taxes, the 
French government recklessly 
borrowed g r e a t sums o f 
money, without stopping to 

think how they should be repaid. In the end, the 
government became practically bankrupt. No more 
money could be raised by ordinary means, and it was 
necessary to take some extraordinary step. 

This was done in 1789, when the Estates General was 

called together. This was a legislative assemblv which 

The King had been used in the Middle Ages, but had 

andarepub-been discontinued for nearly three hundred 

lie estab- • * r> ■ l << . l • j 

lished. years. The representatives ot the third 
estate" took control, and bound themselves by an oath 







GUILLOTINE 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 311 

not to separate until they had given France a constitution. 
King Louis XVI. and his Queen, Marie Antoinette 
could not make up their minds frankly to accept these 
changes, so the Revolution grew more radical. Finally, 
when their friends stirred up Austria and Prussia to 
make war on France, in order to restore the French King 
and Queen to their former power, a republic was estab- 
lished. Soon after. Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette 
were put to death by the "guillotine" (an instrument for 
beheading). A Reign of Terror was then established, 
which drove into exile, or put to death, all the nobles 
and clergy who would not support the new republic. 

The watchwords of the Revolution were "Liberty, 
Fraternity, and Equality"; and in the interests of 
"fraternity," or brotherhood, the French offered helping 
hands to all peoples everywhere, who sought to change 
their governments. 

"All governments are our enemies," cried one of their 
speakers, "all peoples are our friends! We shall be 
destroyed, or they shall be free!" 

The French tried, therefore, to stir up revolution in 
England. Moreover, they annexed Belgium and other 
neighboring states to France, and threatened War 
to conquer Holland, which was England's old J^JJ 
ally. As a result of these acts, and of the andFrance - 
horror felt in England at the execution of the French 
King, war soon broke out between England and France, 
which lasted (with two brief intermissions) from 1793 
to 1815. 

This war was on a greater scale than any in which 
England had ever before been engaged. All of the 
countries of Europe were forced, at one time or another, 
to take sides in it. Until late in the war, Great Britain 
sent no soldiers to fight, on the Continent, against the 



312 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



Rise of 

Napoleon 

Bonaparte. 



armies of France. Her part was to supply the money 
which enabled her allies to maintain their armies, and 
to guard the seas with her fleets. 

Three years after the beginning of the war. Napoleon 
Bonaparte rose to be the chief general of the French 
armies. He was then only twenty-seven years 
old, and was so short and thin that his soldiers 
nicknamed 
him "the Little Cor- 
poral." But his mind 
was remarkably quick 
and intelligent, and 
he acted with energy 
a n d determination. 
When he took com- 
of the French 
Italy, he 
these 



in 



in 




mand 
Army 

addressed it 
words: 

" Soldiers, you are 
ill -fed and almost 
naked. The govern- 
ment owes you much, 
but can do nothing 
for you. Your patience 
and courage do you 
honor, but procure 

you neither glory nor profit. I am about to lead you into 
the most fertile plains of the world. There you will find 
great cities and rich provinces; there you will win honor, 
glory, and riches. Soldiers of the army of Italy, will you 
lack courage ?" 

Fired by the spirit of their commander, and guided by 
his genius, Bonaparte's soldiers soon conquered all 



NAPOLEON BONAPARTE 

Notice the unpowdered hair. The French 

Revolution changed fashions as 

well as institutions 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 313 

orthern Italy, and forced Austria to make peace, 
ranee was left free to carry on her war with England, 
>r her other continental enemies made peace before the 
alian campaign began. 

The great problem, in attacking Great Britain, was 
ow to reach her. Ireland seemed to be the most prom- 
ing place for an attack, for there the people were of a 
ifferent race and religion from England, and would 
elcome an invading force. Already a French expedition 
ad been sent to that country, but it had been scattered 
y storms, and failed. Better luck might attend a second 
ttempt; but, first, the English fleet must be reckoned 
ith. 

France now controlled the fleets of Holland and Spain, 
1 addition to her own; and if these three could be united 
lev might be more than a match for that of 

J & . England's 

Ingland. The danger to Great Britain was naval 

° ° victories. 

ery great, but her seamen were equal to the 
ccasion. Before the Spanish and Dutch fleets could be 
nited with that of France, they were met separately, 
nd practically destroyed. The defeat of the Spanish 
eet took place near Cape St. Vincent, the southwestern 
oint of Portugal. It was largely due to the efforts of a 
lan who was to become England's greatest naval 
ommander — Horatio Nelson. 

These victories of Great Britain renewed her command 
f the sea, and for some time rendered hopeless any plans 
3r invading her. 

Bonaparte, however, secured the consent of the French 
overnment to another plan, which would injure England, 
mile it would also enrich France and further Bonaparte's 
wn ambitions. This was the conquest of Egypt, which 
fas in name a province of Turkey. Egypt, in French 



314 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

England's power in India. In 1798, Bonaparte set out 
with a great expedition, and reached Egypt, without 
meeting Nelson's fleet, which was in the Mediterranean. 
A single battle, fought near the Great Pyramids, put 
Egypt almost completely in Napoleon's control. 

A few days later. Admiral Nelson found the French 
fleet at anchor, near the mouth of the river Nile. It was 
superior in numbers and in guns to the English fleet, but 
that did not hinder Nelson. He skilfully sent one division 
of his fleet between the French ships and the shore, 
saying — 

" Where there is room for a French ship to ride at 
anchor, there is room for an English ship to sail." 

By this means, he was able to attack the leading ships 
of the French line from both sides, and overpower them. 
The battle lasted until far in the night, the scene bein^ 
lighted not only by the flashing of the guns, but by the 
French flag-ship, which took fire and finally exploded. 
Nelson himself was severely wounded in the head, but 
when a surgeon ran up to attend to him, out of his turn, 
he said: 

"No, I will take my turn with my brave fellows." 

This battle of the Nile was a complete British victory. 
Bonaparte's army was cut off from return to Europe, and 
it was not until more than a year later that he himself 
landed, almost alone, upon the shores of France. 

Soon after this, Bonaparte overthrew the government 

which then ruled France, and set up a new one, of which 

he was the head, with the title First Consul. 

SfnqSs 8 A little later > he liad his term ° f ° ffice aS First 

Consul extended for life; and finally, in 1804, 
he proclaimed himself Emperor of the French under the 
name Napoleon I. All of these changes were sub- 
mitted to the vote of the people, and were approved 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 



31.3 



the satisfaction of their 



hv large majorities. It seemed that Napoleon was right 
when he said of the French : 

"What they want is glory, and 
vanity. As for liberty, of that 
they have no idea. The nation 
must have a head — a head 
which is rendered illustrious 
by glory." 



Napoleon gave 



lorv 



to 

France in fullest measure. In 
the next few years, he overran 
the greater part of Europe, 
and fought battle after battle, 
nearly always winning bril- 
liant victories. He more than 
doubled the territory over which 
France ruled, and both the 
government of France, and the 
geography and governments of 
all Europe, bear the impress of 
his influence to this day. But, 
with all his power, and all his 
genius, he could not conquer 
the "nation of shopkeepers, " 
as he called the English. In 
180 l 2, a peace was made be- 
tween England and France. It 
was in this treaty that the Eng- 
lish King finally gave up the 
title "King of France," which 
had been used by English 




BRITISH SOLDI ER 
Red coat, white breeches 



sovereigns since Edward III. 

Within a little more than a year, 
were again at war 



the two countries 
Napoleon established a camp at 



316 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

Boulogne, on the English Channel, and gathered together 
a great fleet of boats, to invade England. But soon he 
was obliged to break up his camp, and march his armies 
against other enemies. A few weeks later, all hope of 
invading England was taken away by the destruction 
of the last French fleet, at Cape Trafalgar. 

The battle of Trafalgar was Nelson's last and greatest 
victory, The French fleet had slipped to sea, and joined 
what remained of the Spanish fleet; then the 
Trafalgar comDme d fl ee t na ^ sailed for the West Indies. 
Nelson followed after it, and when he could 
not find it in American waters, he rightly guessed that 
the move was a blind to draw him away from Europe. 
Hastily he retraced his course, and found the missing 
fleet in the harbor of Cadiz. By keeping some of his 
ships out of sight, he tempted the French admiral to 
come out and give battle. Nelson had twenty-seven 
ships, and the French thirty-three, but Nelson sunk or 
captured all but thirteen of the enemy's vessels. Nelson 
himself was killed, by a bullet fired from a French ship, 
alongside which his flag-ship, the Victory, was lying. 
The last signal which he gave to his fleet shows the spirit 
of his life. It was this: "England expects every man to 
do his duty." 

These victories, won by Nelson, led a British poet of 
that time to sing: 

"Britannia needs no bulwarks, 
No towers along the steep ; 
Her march is o'er the mountain waves, 
Her home is on the deep. 
With thunders from her native oak 
She quells the floods below, 
As they roar on the shore, 
When the stormy winds do blow ! 
When the battle rages loud and long, 
And the stormy winds do blow." 



THK FRENCH REVOLUTION 



317 



The Prime Minister of Great Britain, during the 
greater part of this period, was William Pitt, a younger 
son of the great Earl of Chatham who had William 

° . „ Pitt, the 

saved England during the Seven Years' War. younger, 

i i x» • a r- • Prime 

Pitt, the younger, became Prime Minister Minister, 
before the war began, when he was only twenty-four 
years of age. For a time, his position was very difficult, 

for he was opposed in the 
House of Commons, not 
only by the Whigs under 
Fox, but by the Tories 
under Lord North. But 
his good sense and ability 
brought the people over 
to his side. After a new 
election was held, in 1784, 
a majority of the House 
of Commons supported 
his policies. He was not 
so great an orator as his 
father, but he was a sound 
and energetic statesman, 
and his services were of 
the highest value. 

" England has saved 
herself by her exertions," 
war, "and she will save 




WILLIAM PITT, THE YOUNGER 
Notice the powdered hair 



he said at one time in this 
Europe by her example." 

Under Pitt's guidance. Great Britain contributed much 
more than her example. Her money, in large part, 
paid the armies of Napoleon's enemies, and her fleets 
interfered to spoil French plans of conquest. He died in 
1806, but his death brought no slackening of efforts in the 
<rreat war. 



318 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

When Napoleon found that he could not invade 
England, he tried to conquer her by striking a blow at her 
commerce. By his "Continental System" he closed all 
the sea-ports of Europe against English goods, and he 
punished with war the countries which would not adopt 
his system. Up to this time, the peoples of Europe had 
sympathized with France, although their governments 
fought against her. Now, Napoleon's tyranny turned 
the peoples against him, and from this time on his efforts 
began to fail. 

The Spanish peninsula was the region where national 

resistance to Napoleon first broke out on a large scale. 

welling- The kingdom of Spain had been seized by 

toSesVn" Napoleon, and his brother Joseph set up as 

Spain. Kin^; and the roval familv of Portugal 

escaped capture, at Napoleon's hands, only through the 

aid of a British warship, which took them to their South 

American colony of Brazil. When the Spanish people 

rose in revolt against French rule, the British government 

aided them, by sending, for the first time, a British army 

to fight against Napoleon. England's sea power enabled 

her to land troops freely in Portugal, and this became 

their base of operations in the six years' "Peninsular 

War" which followed (1808-1814). 

In this war, the Duke of Wellington, who was the 
British commander, proved more than a match for 
Napoleon's generals. It would take too long to tell 
of the wavering fortune which he encountered, and the 
battles which he fought. In the end, he was success- 
ful, for Napoleon was too busily engaged elsewhere 
to give this war his personal attention. By 1811, he suc- 
ceeded in driving the French from Portugal; and he 
then advanced into Spain. In 3 812, the south of Spain 
was recovered from the French. In 1813-14, the 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 319 

north was freed, and the defeated French were driven 
headlong across the Pyrenees Mountains. Then Wel- 
lington prepared to follow them into France itself. 

This was made possible by Napoleon's folly in going 
to war with Russia, in 1812, and marching upon her 
capital, Moscow. His army numbered half a Uprising 
million men, drawn from "twenty nations." ag^™P e 
The Russians wisely refused to fight pitched Na P° leon - 
battles, and retreated as he advanced. Moscow was 
captured, but next day a fire broke out — probably 
started by the Russians — which burned nine-tenths of 
the city, and made it impossible for the French to hold it. 

Then began Napoleon's retreat. The Russians 
followed after, cutting off straoolers. Zero weather came 
on, and scores of thousands perished — from cold, hunger, 
wounds, and sickness. Of the mighty host which had 
set out, only a handful crossed the Russian frontier on 
the return. 

This great disaster to Napoleon encouraged the 
oppressed states of Germany to revolt against his rule. 
Throughout the year 1813, the terrific contest was 
fought. In spite of all his desperate efforts, Napoleon 
was slowly but surely forced back to the river Rhine, 
and across it into France itself. Then, in 1814, while 
Wellington invaded France from the south, the Russians, 
Austrians, Prussians, and Swedes invaded it from the 
east and north. 

Against such odds. Napoleon could not hope to suc- 
ceed. After desperate battles, and most brilliant general- 
ship, he was obliged to make peace. He had rejected 
earlier and more liberal offers, so the allies obliged him 
to give up his crown and go into exile. He kept the title 
of " Emperor," and was given the little island of Elba 
(between Corsica and Italy) to rule oAer, and was to 



320 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



Napoleon's 
return 
from Elba. 



receive an annual pension. On the whole, they did not 
treat him badly. 

But it was not in Napoleon's nature to be content with 
so tiny a kingdom. Louis XVIII. , who had been placed 

on the 

French 

throne, 
had learned noth- 
ing from the mis- 
fortunes of his 
family, and the 
French people 
began to long for 
the return of 
Napoleon. The 
allies, too, were 
quarreling over 
the division of the 
territories taken 
from Napoleon, 
and he hoped that 
their union would 
be broken. So, 
in March, 1815, 
Napoleon slipped 
through thearuard 
ships placed al >out 
his island, and 
soon all Europe 
was startled to 
hear that he was 
again in France. 

" I shall reach Paris 
firing a shot." 




DUKE OF WELLINGTON 



Napoleon predicted, "without 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 321 

The French soldiers who were sent to capture him 
went over to his side. Louis XVIII. fled from the 
kingdom, and Napoleon again seized the throne. 

This news reunited the allies, and they once more set 
their armies in motion. Napoleon's policy was always 
to strike first. He now marched hastily into Belgium, 
to attack the British, under Wellington, and the Prus- 
sians, under Blucher. There he fought the great battle 
of Waterloo, on June 18, 1815. 

Two days before this battle, Blucher had been defeated 
and separated from Wellington. Without Blucher's 
troops, it would be impossible for Wellington Batt i eof 
t:> hold his position, at Waterloo. How ^^'J 
anxiously, then, through that long day, did 1815) * 
Wellington scan the horizon for the promised aid of the 
Prussians! But the roads were soft from recent rains, 
and the Prussians found it slow work dragging the heavy 
cannon through the mud. Meanwhile, the battle raged 
fiercely — here, there, all over the field! In this battle, 
Wellington earned the name of "the Iron Duke," for he — 

"Taught us there 
What long enduring hearts could do, 
In that world-earthquake, Waterloo! " 

At last, six miles away, a dark moving mass appeared. 
The field glasses showed that they were men — troops! 
But were they the promised aid from Blucher, or the 
reinforcements expected by the French ? 

"They are French; they must be French!" cried 
Napoleon. 

But no! It was the advance guard of the Prussians! 

The French fought desperately, but they had now to 
face two foes. Soon they gave way. Then the defeat 
became a rout. The new recruits flung aside their guns, 
and the shameful cry arose, "Let each save himself!" 



322 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

In vain Napoleon's Old Guard stood firm. "The 
Guard dies," it was said, "but it does not surrender!" 

This defeat of Napoleon caused his final downfall. 

For the second time, Paris passed into the hands of the 

allies. Napoleon tried to find a ship in which 

Final l .,11 

downfall of he could escape to America, but could not. 
At last, to avoid falling into the hands of the 
Prussians, he went on board a British man-of-war, and 
surrendered to its commander. 

He was taken to England. Then, by the unanimous 
resolve of the allies, he was carried to the island of St. 
Helena, in the South Atlantic Ocean, where he was kept 
a captive, until his death, in 1821. He had staked 
everything on making himself master of the whole of 
Europe, and had failed. He was one of the greatest 
generals in history, and in his few intervals of peace he 
showed that he could be a great statesman and reformer. 
But his policy was coldly selfish, and the sufferings of 
France in his wars failed to move him. His overthrow 
was a real benefit to all the nations of Europe, and 
indeed of the world. 

In the midst of her war against Napoleon, Great 

Britain fought her second war against the United States 

England's (1812-1815). The struggle between the 

Th/un^ed gi an ts of Europe had led both countries 

states. j Q i n t er f ere unjustly with the commerce of 

neutral nations, and American trade was practically 

destroyed. In addition, Great Britain forced many 

American seamen to serve on board her warships, 

claiming (truly or falsely) that they were British subjects. 

The United States chose to go to war with Great 

Britain alone, and American vessels won some notable 

victories over separate English vessels. The Americans 

failed, however, to conquer Canada, as was planned; 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 323 

and a British expedition captured the city of Washing- 
ton and burned many of the government buildings. 
The battle of New Orleans, which General Andrew 
Jackson and his sharpshooters won against the British, 
came after peace had been agreed to, and so was 
without result. The treaty which ended the war left 
things just about as they were when it began. Never- 
theless, the war accomplished two things for America: 
it caused Great Britain to respect her late colonies; and 
it united the States more firmly, and taught them that 
they were a nation. 

In overthrowing the Emperor Napoleon, Great 
Britain had played the chief part. As was only natural, 
she profited hv the war, through her conquest . 

1 • . Increase of 

of the colonial possessions of France and of the British 

l _ m Empire. 

the countries allied with France — Spain and 
Holland. Thus she secured the Cape of Good Hope, 
Malta, Ceylon, Trinidad, and other important parts of 
the present British Empire. 

But these gains were dearly bought. Her public debt 
increased to four times what it was at the beginning 
of the war, and has ever since remained a 
heavy burden. The prices of goods rose iems'for 
enormously, until wheat sold for about four 
dollars a bushel; but wages rose very little. The war 
left Great Britain, therefore, with many serious problems 
to solve. Moreover, fear of the French Revolution had 
stopped the movements toward democracy and reform, 
which existed before the war, and had left the rigid 
Tories in complete control of the government. 

The wiping out of these effects of the struggle against 
the French Revolution was the work of the next twenty 
years of British historv. 



324 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Bead an account of Napoleon Bonaparte 's boyhood and rise 

to power. 

2. Eead an account of the Battle of Trafalgar (Southey's "Life 

of Nelson," Ch. ix). 

3. Write an account of the Battle of Waterloo. 

4. Eead aloud Byron's verses on the festivities at Brussels the 

night before Waterloo ("Childe Harold," canto III., 
stanzas xxi-xxv). 

5. Show how men like Drake and the Earl of Chatham had pre- 

pared England for her victory over the French Revolution. 
Show that Hargreaves and Watt had contributed to this 
same end. 



XXXVI 



A PERIOD OF REFORM (1815-1837) 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Condition of England after the wars; the "Peterloo Massacre"; 

its effect on the government ; on the Whig - leaders. 
Laws against Dissenters repealed; Daniel O'Connell; Catholics 

admitted to Parliament; need of reform in Parliament; the 

Reform Act passed, 1832; later Acts of 1867 and 1884. 
Slavery abolished, 1834; employment of children in factories; 

Factory Acts passed; criminal law reformed; other reforms. 

The sixty years' reign of George III. came to an end 
in 1820. During the last nine years of his life, he was 
permanently insane, and the government was carried on 
by his eldest son, George IV., as regent. 

The reign of George IV. in his own right lasted from 
1820 to 1830. He loved to be called the " First Gentleman 
in Europe," but he was far from being a Rei g nsof 
gentleman at heart. Both before and after SS^^' 
he became King, he led an evil and dissipated liam Iv - 
life. His attempt to gain a divorce from his wife, Queen 
Caroline, whose life was far less blameworthy than his 
own, made him very unpopular with his subjects. 
Before he became King he had been a great Whig; but 
after his father's power had passed into his hands he 
forgot all his liberal principles, and became an extreme 
Tory. 

He was succeeded by his brother William IV., who 
ruled from 1830 to 1837. Until late in life there seemed 
little likelihood that William would succeed to the throne, 
so he was bred up to a sailor's life. He went to sea, as 

325 



326 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



a midshipman, when he was fourteen years of age, and he 
showed a great liking for naval service. His bluff sailor- 
like ways gained him great popularity, both as prince 
and as King; but he lacked dignity of manner, and 
showed little ability as a ruler. Like his brother, George 
IV., he left no heir to the throne, and when he died the 
crown passed to the daughter of a younger brother, 
Queen Victoria, whose long and eventful reign will be 
described later. 

The last years of George III., and the reigns of George 
IV. and William IV., 



Questions 
of reform. 



were filled 
with ques- 
tions of re- 
form in the government. 
Bad times followed the 
close of the wars with 
France, and for a num- 
ber of years taxes and 
the price of food were 
high, while great num- 
bers of the people were 
out of employment. 
Ignorant people some- 
times formed mobs, and 
broke machines used 
i n m a n u facturing, 
which the y fancied 
were the cause of their 
lack of employment, 
societies were formed 
political reforms, and 




WILLIAM IV. 

Notice that the men's dress was becoming 
much like that of today 



"Hampden Clubs" and other 
among the people to work for 
these alarmed the Tories with 

fears of a revolution, like that which had taken place in 

France. 



THE REFORM PERIOD 327 

In 1819 a meeting was called bv the reformers in St. 
Peters Field, at Manchester. Probably fifty thousand 
persons, or more, gathered there, bearing- 
banners with the words, " Unity and ioo e Mas- 
Strength," "Annual Parliaments," "Universal 
Suffrage," on them. Many of the men had been drilled 
to march in step; but they were without weapons, except 
some who carried stout sticks. 

One of their leaders tells us that his old employer 
called to him, as they marched through the streets, 
and said, anxiously, that he " hoped they intended no 
harm." 

"No, no, my dear master," was the answer, "if any 
wrong or violence takes place, they will be committed 
by men of a different stamp from these." 

The meeting had scarcely opened, however, and the 
chief speaker begun his address, when the magistrates 
ordered mounted soldiers to arrest the speaker, and 
to break up the meeting. 

"Forward!" was the command; and as the trumpet 
sounded, the soldiers dashed into the struggling multi- 
tude of unarmed people. In ten minutes the vast crowd 
was scattered. To" accomplish this, five or six persons 
were killed, and fifty or more were wounded. 

This "Peterloo Massacre" caused great indignation 
among liberal-minded people. It led the government, 
on the other hand, to pass very severe laws „, 

. . . The Whigs 

against political meetings, against speaking take up 
or printing criticisms of the government, and 
against drilling private persons. The chief effect of all 
this was to show the leaders of the Whig party that, 
unless they joined with these "Radicals," in reforming 
the government and in taking it out of the hands of the 
Tories, either libertv would be lost, or there might be a 



328 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

revolution which would upset all social order and 
government. 

The wisest of the Whigs, therefore, took up in Parlia- 
ment the cause of reform, and soon their efforts be<jan to 
be crowned with success. 

The first great reforms were the repeal of the laws 
which forbade anyone to be a member of Parliament 
except those who worshiped according to the Church of 
England. Protestant Dissenters had long been allowed 
to sit as members of Parliament, in spite of the law, but 
it was not until 1828 that this was made legal. The next 
3'ear the laws which kept Catholics out of office were 
also repealed 

The repealing of the laws against the Catholics was 

chiefly the work of an Irish Catholic leader named 

Daniel O'Connell. He was a great public 

Catholics , . 

admitted speaker, and with the aid of the Catholic 

to office. L 

priests he organized the small Irish voters, so 
that they no longer voted for candidates named by their 
landlords, but for men favorable to their own cause. 
The Tory party, the leaders of the Church of England, 
and perhaps a majority of the English people, were 
opposed to the Catholic claims, and raised the cry 
of "No Popery," and "Church and King." George III. 
had been led to believe that the oath which he had taken 
as King to "uphold the Church of England" forbade 
his consenting to laws favorable to the Catholics; and 
when Pitt had proposed such laws it had brought on 
one of George's fits of insanity. George IV. now held 
the same ideas, but people cared less for his opinions. 
The question came to a head when O'Connell was 
himself elected to the House of Commons, in 1829. He 
was a Catholic, and could not take the oaths which were 
required of all members of that body. But, if he were 



THE REFORM PERIOD 329 

not admitted to Parliament, all Ireland would burst out 
into revolt . So. the King's chief ministers — the Duke of 
Wellington and Sir Robert Peel — used their influence to 
pass a hill which gave Catholics the same political 
rights as Protestants. 

This was a wise step, hut it angered their Tory followers 
and weakened their party. It made it easier for the 
Whigs, soon after this, to get control of the government 
and to pass a yet greater reform measure. 

This was the reform of the representation in the House 
of Commons itself. Many of the members, in that body, 
represented what were known as "rotten 

1 t Need of 

boroughs" — that is, towns which never had reform of 

l i • l-iii ii-i Parliamen t- 

much population, or which had so declined 

that they were no longer populous. Some places which 
sent representatives were mere mounds and ditches, 
without any inhabitants, or were towns which had years 
before been swallowed up by the sea. Sometimes they 
were called "pocket boroughs," because the lord of the 
land practically named the members himself — carried 
them around **in his pocket," so to speak. On the other 
hand, many of the great manufacturing towns, which 
had sprung up as a result of the Industrial Revolution, 
had no representatives in Parliament. Some mem- 
bers of the House of Lords practically appointed as 
many as eleven members each in the House of Commons, 
while the great majority of the people, both in the towns 
and in the country, had no right of voting, even for a single 
member. Those who did have the right frequently sold 
their votes to the highest bidder, when they were not 
forced to vote as their landlords commanded them. It 
was ^enerallv known that seats in the House of 
Commons could be bought for a certain sum of money. 
For a long time, all proposals to reform Parliament 



S30 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

were successfully resisted. But when the Duke of 
Wellington, in 1830, declared, as head of the government, 
that these arrangements were the very best that could 
possibly be invented, his statement was too much even 
for his followers. 

" What is the matter ?" asked the Duke of a friend who 
sat by him, as loud murmurs arose in different parts of 
the House. 

" Nothing," was the reply, " except that you have 
announced your own downfall." 

So it proved, for, soon after this, Earl Grey became the 

head of a Whig ministry, in Wellington's place. The 

cause of Parliamentary reform was now taken 

The Reform , J 

Bill passed up in earnest, and a Reform Bill was mtro- 

(1832). l 

duced in the House of Commons. It was 
bitterlv opposed, and its fate was long doubtful. In a 
letter to a friend, the historian Macaulay, who was him- 
self a member of the Commons, gives this description 
of the passing of the first vote in its favor: 

"Everybody was desponding. * We have lost it! I do 
not think we are two hundred and fifty; they are three 
hundred.' This was the talk on our benches. As the 
count of our number proceeded, the interest was insup- 
portable. 'Two hundred and ninety-one, two hundred 
and ninety-two — ' We were all standing up, and counting 
with the tellers. At 'three hundred' there was a short 
cry of joy; at 'three hundred and two,' another. We 
knew that we could not be severely beaten. 

"First, we heard that they were three hundred and 
three; then that number rose to three hundred and 
ten; then went doAvn to three hundred and seven. We 
were all breathless with anxiety, when one of our side, 
who stood near the door, jumped up on a bench and 
cried out — 



THE REFORM PERIOD 331 

'They are only three hundred and oneV 

"We set up a shout that you might have heard to 
Charing Cross, stamping against the floor and clapping 
our hands. No sooner were the outer doors opened, than 
another shout answered that within the House. All the 
passages and stairs were thronged by people who had 
waited, until four o'clock in the morning, to know the 
result. I called a cab, and the first thing the driver 
asked was — 

" 'Is the bill carried ?' 

" 'Yes, by one vote.' 

" 'Thank God for it, sir!' 

"And away I rode, and so ended a scene which will 
probably never be equaled." 

But the battle was not yet over. This House of Com- 
mons had to be dismissed, and a new one elected, before 
the bill finally passed that body. Then the House of 
Lords rejected it. The House of Commons then passed 
the bill a second time; and such an agitation broke out 
among the people that, in the end, the Lords gave way. 
In June, 1832, the great Reform Bill became law. 

Bv its provisions, many of the small boroughs lost their 
representatives in Parliament, while the great manufac- 
turing towns gained representation. At the same time 
the "franchise," or right to vote, was made more liberal, 
so that small farmers and shopkeepers secured the 
vote. Later laws, passed in 1867 and in 1884, further 
reformed the House of Commons, so that it is now 
practically as representative of the people as our Congress, 
and the right to vote is almost as general as with us. 

The reform of Parliament caused a real revolution 
in the government, though a peaceful one. For fifty 
sears the Tories had been in almost constant control. 
Now, for thirty-five years, the government was almost 



33Z 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



continuously in the hands of the Whigs, and they used 
the opportunity to pass many needed reforms. 

One of these was the abolition of slavery throughout 
all the British possessions. 

Shortly before our Declaration of Independence, the 

English courts declared that slavery could not exist in 

Great Britain, and that as soon as a slave set 

Slavery 

abolished foot on its soil he became free. Then, in 1807, 

(1834). . , ' 

a law was passed which forbade British vessels 
to take part in the slave trade, and forbade the entrance 
of additional slaves into the British colonies. 




A SPINNING FACTORY 



This action was largely due to the efforts of two great- 
hearted English reformers, Thomas Clarkson and William 
Wilberforce, who gave the greater part of their lives to 
working, first, against the slave trade, and then against 
slavery itself. They formed anti-slavery societies, 



THE REFORM PERIOD 333 

collected evidence, and in speeches and pamphlets 
aroused the consciences of Englishmen to the terrible 
wrongs of slavery. 

In 1833, their labors were at last completely successful. 
Parliament passed a law that all slaves throughout the 
British possessions should be set free on August 1, 1834, 
and that their masters should receive, from the British 
government, an amount equal to $100,000,000. In the 
sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, English 
traders and sailors had taken a principal part in carrying 
African slaves to other countries. It was only right, 
therefore, that Great Britain should now take the chief 
part in ridding the world of this curse. 

The condition of children who worked in the mines 
and factories was very bad at this time, and Parliament 
passed laws in regard to this subject also. Employ . 
Many parents practically sold their children ^[J.^ in 
to the owners of factories, who worked them factones - 
for such long hours and under such bad conditions that 
they either died or were injured for life. One young 
man, aged nineteen, testified before a committee of 
Parliament, in 1832, as follows: 

"What time did you begin to work at a mill?" 

"When I was six years old." 

" What sort of a mill was it ? 

"A woolen mill." 

"What were the hours of work?" 

"We used to start at five, and work till nine at night." 

" What time had you for your dinner .- " 

"Half an hour." 

" What time had you for breakfast and drinking ? " 

"A quarter of an hour at each end of the day." 

"How were you kept up to your work, during the 
latter part of the day?" 



334 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



"The overlooker used to come with a strap, and give 
us a rap or two." 

" Did they strike the young children as well as the 
older ones, the girls as well as the boys?" 

"Yes." 

"State the effect upon your health of those long hours 
of labor." 

"I was made crooked with so much standing." Here 
the witness showed his legs, which were very crooked. 

" How tall are you ? " 

"About four feet, nine inches." 

" Were the children unhappy ? Have you seen them 
crying at their work?" 

"Yes." 

"Had you 
time to go to 
a day school, 
o r a night 
school, during 
this labor? 
("an y o u 
write ?" 

" No, not at 
all." 

" What effect did working by gaslight have upon your 
eyes ?" 

"It nearly made me blind." 

As a result of such testimony, Parliament passed a 

"Factory Act" in 1833, which forbade the working in 

factories of children under nine vears of age. 

Factory 1 1 1 p 

Acts Later acts entirely stopped the employment of 

women and children in mines, where their 

condition was even worse than in factories. Gradually 

the hours of work in the factories were cut down, and 




CHILDREN WORKING IN A MINE 



THE REFORM PERIOD 33,5 

better conditions established. At the same time, it was 
ordered that factory children should spend at least a 
part of each day in school, in order that they might not 
grow up entirely uneducated. In this way only could 
the introduction of the factory system of manufacturing 
be prevented from becoming more of a curse than a 
blessing to the great body of the people. 

A reform of the criminal law was also begun at this 
time. The old criminal law Avas very harsh, and provided 
the penalty of death for more than two 
hundred offences. These included such »tms 
offences as injuring Westminster bridge, passed ' 
picking pockets, and unlawfully killing deer, -as well as 
serious crimes. Changes in the law now began, which 
ended by leaving only murder and treason punishable 
with death. These reforms not only made the law less 
barbarous, but also made its penalties more certain. 
Now that its provisions were more reasonable, judges 
and juries did not hesitate so much to punish those who 
committed crimes. 

Many other important reforms were carried out. 
These included, among others, a reform of the system 
for relieving distress among the poor, which was very 
much needed; and also a reform of the manner of 
governing the cities. It would take too long to go into 
the details of these, and other measures. But it should 
ever be borne in mind that one of the first and greatest 
of the results which followed the giving of more power 
in Parliament to the people was the clearing away of 
old abuses in the government. 

Instead of the disorder and anarchy which the Tories 
feared would come from the Reform Act, there came a 
period of active good government, and a time of general 
prosperity for the whole country. 



SS(i THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

Why should the reform clubs be called "Hampden Clubs"? 
Why were the Tories so alarmed by such movements as that 
which led to the meeting in St. Peter's Field? 

Did the Whigs take up the cause of reform because they 
believed the people should rule, or because alliance with the 
people was the only way in which the Tory government 
could be overthrown . 7 

Write an account in your own words of the importance of the 
reform of Parliament. 

Compare the abolition of the slave trade and slavery in the 
British Empire with their abolition in the United States. 

Make a list of the evils growing out of the Industrial Revolu- 
tion which needed to be corrected. Make another list of 
the benefits which it brought. 



XXXVII 

THE EARLY REIGN OF QUEEN 
VICTORIA 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Accession of Queen Victoria; her character; Prince Albert; 
Victoria 's constitutional rule. 

Inventions and improvements; gaslight; the railway and steam- 
boat; penny postage; the telegraph and telephone. 

Famine in Ireland; Sir Robert Peel, Prime Minister; the Corn 
Laws repealed (1846). 

Causes of the Crimean War; siege of Sebastopol; charge of the 
Li^ht Brigade; end of the war. 

The Mutiny in India; its causes; siege of Lucknow; end of the 
Mutiny; effects on the government of India; the Queen pro- 
claimed Empress of India (1877). 

Early on a June morning in 1837, a carriage dashed 
up to the gates of the palace where the Princess Victoria 
was living, and the Archbishop of Canterbury „. 

° L * Victoria 

and the Lord Chamberlain of England got becomes 

" & Queen. 

hastily out. They had driven through the 
night, from Windsor Castle, the royal residence, twenty- 
five miles away, and asked to see the Princess at once. 

"We are come on business of state," said they, "and 
even Her Highness's sleep must give way to that." 

After a few minutes, the Princess came into the room, 
[i shawl thrown hastily about her shoulders, and her hair 
in disorder. 

Then the messengers fell upon their knees, and 
informed her that, through the death that night of her 
uncle, William IV., she had become the sovereign Queen 
of Great Britain and Ireland, and mistress of all the 
British dominions beyond the seas. 

337 



338 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



The new Queen was barely eighteen. She had lost 
her father when she was less than a year old, and had 
been brought up carefully by her mother, the Duchess 
of Kent. Long afterwards, she wrote of her early 
years: 

I was brought up very simply— never had a room to 
myself till I was nearly grown up. I always slept in my 
mother's room, till I came to the throne. In the small 




WINDSOR CASTLE 



houses at the bathing places, to which we went in sum- 
mer, I sat and took my lessons in my governess's bed- 
room." 

At the news that her uncle was dead, and that she had 
become Queen, her eyes filled with tears. 

The sweetness, kindness, and good sense which she 

showed charmed all her people. Because of these 

qualities, and because of her long reign of 

Character \ j? i 

of the new sixtv-four years, she was one of the most 

Queen. • * 

important rulers of her time, and one of the 
greatest sovereigns that England has ever had. 



EARLY REIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA 339 

Three years after she became Queen, Victoria married 
her cousin. Prince Albert, who belonged to the family of 
German princes from which her mother came. 
They had many children, and their family life Tl *& e an d 

i M ^ home life. 

was a very happy one. The Prince was a good 
father and a good husband; he was also a wise and a well 
educated man, and aided the Queen very much in 
carrying on the government. He died in 1861, and 




PRINCESS VICTORIA NOTIFIED THAT SHE HAS BECOME QUEEN 



Queen Victoria never got over her grief for him. For 
many years afterwards, she appeared in public only when 
it was absolutely necessary. 

Throughout her long reign. Queen Victoria loyally 
played the part of a constitutional sovereign. She chose 
her ministers, now from the Whigs (or "Liberals." as 
they began to be called), and now from the Tories (or 



340 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



"Conservatives" . whichever had a majority in the 
Hou-e of Commons. In this way Parliament, especially 
the Hou^e of Commons, came more and more to rule the 
country: and the old idea of George III., that the per- 
sonal will of the King should rule, was very largely 
given up. 

The long reicm of Queen Victoria saw a constant 
succession of new inventions, which increased man's 
mastery over nature. 

By Victoria's time, artificial gaslights had taken the 
place of the old whale-oil lamps, with which formerly the 
streets of London were dimly lighted. Gaslight was also 
generally used in 
shops, and in the bet- 
ter class of houses. It 
not until her reign 
was two-thirds over 
that electric lighting 
came into us 

In 1814 Geor g e 
Stephenson, the son 

of a poor English miner, constructed a loco- 

The railway ' ° 

and steam- motive engine, which people called " Puffing 
Billy.** on account of the noise which it mad;-. 
Little by little the locomotive was improved, until 
Stephenson's "Rocket" could run at the rate of thirty- 
five miles an hour. The first railway for passengers 
opened in 18-20. The year after Yietoria became 
Queen, a railway was opened clear through from London 
to Liverpool, and it became possible to cover, in ten 
hours, a distance which had taken sixty hours by the 
oach. The steamboat had already been 
invented, by Fulton in America ISO? . and by Bell in 
Scotland 1812 : and in 1838 vessels under steam power 




'PUFFING BILLY 



EARLY REIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA 541 

began to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The influei. 
these inventions, in changing all the conditions of life. 
was only second in importance to the introduction of 
machinery in manufacturing. 

Formerly, the person who received a letter paid the 
postage, which varied with the distance. A letter from 
London to Scotland cost more than a shilling 

~ Pennv 

twentv-hve rents and poor people often postage 

* vi ■ 1 x introduced. 

could not afford to receive letters. In l v 
however, gummed postage stamps were introduced, 
with which the sender paid the postage; and in 1840 
the rate was made one penny two cents for letters 
throughout Great Britain and Ireland. Since then cheap 
postage has spread all over the world, until in 1908 the 
rate was made two cents even to America. This cheap- 
ening of postage brought people closer together, and also 
aided the spread of information, through the circulation 
of cheap newspapers and magazines. 

Of even greater importance was the introduction of 
the electric telegraph, at the beginning of Victoria's 
reign. An American. Samuel Morse, invented 

... . The tele- 

an electric telegraph in 1835; but, before he sraph and 

. . telephone. 

could patent his invention in Great Britain, 
two Englishmen had worked out an invention of their 
own and patented it. Within a short time the whole 
country was covered with telegraph wires, and me-- . - 
could he Hashed in a moment's time from one end oi it 
to another. In 1858, an electric cable was first laid, con- 
necting Great Britain and America: hut this soon broke, 
ami it was not until 18(.U> that it became possible to send 
messages regularly between the Old World and the New. 
The telegraphs became the property oi the government, 
in Great Britain, and are managed as a part of the 
Post Office. When the telephone was introduced, after 



342 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

1880, this also passed largely into the hands of the 
government. 

When Victoria had been Queen nine years, a great 
famine came upon Ireland, which caused the loss of 
thousands of lives, and led several million persons to 
emigrate from Ireland to the United States. 

The famine was due to a failure of the potato crop, 

which furnished the chief food of the Irish people. After 

a cold and late spring, it began to rain. In 

Famine in , , i 1 p 

Ireland some places, the sun was scarcely seen trom 
the end of May till the next spring. Here and 
there brown spots began to appear on the leaves of the 
potato plants. They grew black and spread, and soon 
whole fields were blighted. At night, a field might 
appear green and flourishing, and the next morning all 
be blight and decay. The food upon which the people 
depended to carry them through the winter rotted in the 
ground. The whole land was soon face to face with 
starvation. 

For some years an "Anti-Corn-Law League" had been 
working in England to secure the repeal of the " Corn 
Laws," which laid heavy tariff duties on imported grain. 
They held great public meetings, they printed pamphlets, 
and they published bitter rhymes, like this: 

"Avenge the plundered poor, Oh Lord! 
But not with fire, but not with sword, — 
Not as at ' Peterloo' they died, 
Beneath the hoofs of coward pride. 
Avenge our rags, our chains, our sighs, 
The famine in our children's eyes ! 
But not with sword— no, not with fire ! 



Let them in outraged mercy trust, 
And find that mercy they deny ! " 



EARLY REIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA 343 



Sir Robert Peel, who was now Prime Minister at the 
head of the Tory party, believed in free trade in every- 
thing except grain. As to grain, he believed Repea i of 
that every country must raise its own food, L aws"° rn 
or it could be starved out in war time. But ( 1846 )- 
now, the famine in Ireland showed him the necessity of 
free trade in grain also. 

So, Peel carried through Parliament a measure 

repealing the Corn 
Laws (1846). Many 
of his followers de- 
serted him on this 
measure, for 
cheaper grain 
meant less profits 
to the landlord 
class; but the 
Whigs aided him. 
This law made 
England a free- 
trade country; and 
it has remained 
such from that day 
to this. Soon after 
this, the Whigs and 
Protectionist 
Tories overthrew 
Peel's government, and he never regained power. 
Since the overthrow of Napoleon, in 1815, Great 
Britain had fought several small wars in Asia and in 
Africa, but had not been at war with any European 
power. From 1854 to 1856, however, she fought Russia, 
in the "Crimean War," so called because it was fought 
mainly in the Crimea peninsula, in the Black Sea. 




SIR ROBERT PEEL 



344 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

The cause of this war was the claims of Russia over 
Turkey, and the fears of England and France that, if 
Causes of they did not aid Turkey, Russia would become 
Crimean t°° powerful. The Czar of Russia was in the 
War - habit of speaking of Turkey as "the Sick 

Man " of Europe. By this, he meant that the government 
of Turkey was so weak that it must soon fall to pieces, 
and he believed that the great powers should plan before- 
hand what was to be done when this should happen. 
The other countries thought this was only a scheme of 
Russia to get possession of Constantinople, which would 
give it an outlet from the Black Sea into the Mediter- 
ranean. This would be especially bad for England, for 
it would threaten the security of her possessions in India. 
So, when Russia claimed the right to interfere in Turkey, 
to protect the Christians there (who were " Greek 
Christians," like the Russians), England and France 
encouraged the Sultan to resist. And when war broke 
out between Russia and Turkey, they sent their armies 
and fleets to the Sultan's assistance. 

The Russians strongly fortified Sebastopol in the 

Crimea, and the English and French attacked it. The 

sie^e lasted for nearly a year, amid cholera, 

Siege of & . . 

sebastopol famine, and the winter weather. The Czar 

(1854-55;. . 

said that " Generals January and February " 
would be his strongest allies, and so it proved. The 
British army suffered terribly, and there was a great 
outcry at home because of mistakes made by the 
government. 

For the first time women nurses were sent out 
to the army, and an English gentlewoman, named 
Florence Nightingale, won undying fame by the heroism 
and self-sacrifice which she showed in caring for the 
sick and wounded. 



EARLY REIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA 345 

The most famous deed of all this war was the charge 
of the Light Brigade, about which Tennyson wrote one 
of his best known poems. Through the 
blunder of some officer, six hundred and the Light 

Brigade. 

seventy-three British horsemen were ordered 
to charge the whole Russian line. 



"Cannon to right of them, 
Cannon to left of them, 
Cannon in front of them 
Volley'd and thunder* d ; 
Storm'd at with shot and shell, 
Boldly they rode and well, 
Into the jaws of Death, 
Into the mouth of Hell 
Rode the six hundred." 

More than two-thirds of that heroic band were killed, 
wounded, or made prisoners. "It is magnificent," said 
a French general, " but it is not war." 

In the end, Sebastopol fell, and Russia was obliged to 
make peace. Many people thought that the whole war 
was a mistake, and that all that the war accomplished 
could have been gained by peaceful means. 

The year which followed the end of the Crimean War 
saw a great rebellion against British rule in India. It is 
known as the Indian " Mutiny," because it outbreak 
was confined almost entirely to the native jj„^ e ny in 
soldiers, or Sepoys, who made up more than India - 
nine-tenths of the British army there. It was largely 
due to uneasiness among the native peoples at the intro- 
duction of railroads, and European ways, and to interfer- 
ence with native religious customs. Its immediate cause 
was a rumor that some new cartridges which were given the 
troops were greased with beef -fat and hog-lard. The 
Hindoos regarded beef-cattle as sacred, and the Moham- 



346 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



medans hated everything which came from the hog; so 
both Hindoos and Mohammedans joined in the revolt. 

It was in May, 1857, that the Sepoys first mutinied. 
They slew their officers, and proclaimed an aged Prince, 
Emperor of 
India. In one 
place, the offi- 
cers, warned by 
telegraph, or- 
dered a review 
of their troops 
at daybreak. 
When the col- 
umns were in 
front of the can- 
n o n — behind 
which stood 
w h i t e gunners 
with port - fires 
lighted — the 
command w a s 
suddenly given, 

k * Pile arms!" and the Sepoys dared not disobey. They 
were disarmed, and the mutiny was prevented from 
spreading to that province. 

Other places were not so fortunate. At Cawnpore, 

the British were obliged to surrender, after standing 

siege for some time, and men, women, and 

O 7 7 7 

Luc*know. children were put to death. At Lucknow, the 
garrison, together with 450 women and chil- 
dren, held out for three months, amid the greatest 
hardships. A relieving expedition fought its way to 
them, but it was not strong enough to bring back the 
besieged through the hostile country. A second expedi- 




SEPOYS 



EARLY REIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA 34? 

tion was long in coming. But one day a Scotch girl, in 
the camp, suddenly started up from her sick bed, crying: 

"The Campbells are coming! Don't you hear the 
bagpipes ?" 

At first they thought that her mind was wandering. 
But she was right. It was a body of Scotch High- 
landers, of the clan of the Campbells, marching to their 
relief, with the bagpipes playing at the head of the col- 
umn. This time the force was strong enough to bring 
the garrison away. 

After some further fighting, the rebellion was put 
down, and the rebels were severely punished. Ever 
since the Mutiny, a larger proportion of 
British troops has been kept in India, so that M n u d ti n f y the 
such a danger might not again arise. Also, 
the Mutiny showed the necessity of making a change in 
the government of India. The old East India Company 
was dissolved, and the British government itself took 
over the rule. In many ways, more consideration was 
shown to the wishes and prejudices of the Indian peoples, 
and in 1877 the Queen was proclaimed Empress of India. 
On the whole, British rule has been a great blessing to 
India; but it is very natural that the educated natives 
should seek, as they are now doing, to have a larger share 
in the government of their own land. 



TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Write an account of the character and home life of Queen 

Victoria. 

2. Kead an account of George Stephenson and the invention of 

the locomotive engine. 

3. Compare the means of communication and travel in 1700 with 

those in 1800, and those in 1900. Mark those which came 
in the reign of Victoria. 

4. Write an account of Sir Robert Peel. 

5. Read aloud Tennyson's poem ''The Charge of the Light 

Brigade. ' ' 



XXXVIII 
GLADSTONE AND DISRAELI 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Early life of Gladstone; development of his political opinions; 

his attitude towards the Civil War in America; later admits 

his mistake; settles the "Alabama" claims. 
Disraeli becomes leader of the Conservative party; defeats the 

Liberal bill for reforming Parliament; passes a more radical 

bill himself. 
Gladstone for the first time Prime Minister; Irish Church dis- 
established; elementary education established; other reforms; 

Gladstone defeated by Disraeli. 
Gladstone a second time Prime Minister; beginning of his 

measures for Ireland. 

The best known statesman of the reign of Queen 
Victoria was William E. Gladstone. He was for sixty- 
two years a member of the House of Commons, and was 
four times Prime Minister. He was the greatest political 
speaker of the latter half of that century, and his name 
is connected with some of the most important laws of 
that time. 

Mr. Gladstone was born at Liverpool, in 1809, the 
same year that Abraham Lincoln was born. His parents 
were of Scottish descent, and his father was a 
o? r y ' e successful merchant. When he was eleven 
years old, he was sent to the great school for 
boys at Eton, which many noblemen's sons attended. 
At that time there was much flogging in English 
schools, and much fighting among the boys; English- 
men defended both as good things, because they said 
that they made the boys sturdy and self-reliant. From 
Eton, Gladstone went to Oxford University, where he 
ranked very high in Greek and Latin, and also in 

348 



GLADSTONE AND DISRAELI 



349 



mathematics. In after years he never forgot his 
interest in learning, and amid his active political life he 
carried on much reading and study. 

Gladstone was always very much interested in religion, 
and for a time he wanted to become a clergyman of the 
Church of England. Instead, he followed the wishes of 
his father, and entered political life. He became a mem- 
ber of the House of Commons in 1833, the year after the 

great Reform 
Bill was passed. 
He owed his 
first seat to the 
favor of a great 
nobleman, who 
controlled one of 
the " rotten bor- 
oughs " which 
had not yet been 
reformed. 

For many 
years Gladstone 
acted with the aristocratic partv, and was „ ,_ 

r He changes 

described as "the rising hope of the stern, from Tory 

& r to Liberal. 

unbending Tories." But he was a member of 
Sir Robert Peel's Cabinet when it repealed the Corn 
Laws, in 1846; and when the Tory party was split in two, 
on that question, he followed Peel against the Protec- 
tionists. Thirteen years later, he joined the Whig (or 
Liberal) party, and, after he came to be its leader, he 
gradually became more and more radical, until finally 
a number of his followers deserted him and joined the 
Conservative party. Late in his life Mr. Gladstone 
summed up the changes in his political principles in 
these words: 




ETON COLLEGE 



350 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

"I was brought up to distrust and dislike liberty; I 
learned to believe in it. That is the key to all my 
changes." 

When the Civil War broke out in America, in 1861, 
the upper classes of Great Britain sympathized with the 
South. The Southern planters were great 
viewi s ifthe^ an< J^ orc ^ s ' hke the English nobles and gentry, 
in America. an( ^ na d * ne same aristocratic ideas; more- 
over, Englishmen admired the dashing courage 
which the South showed in fighting the richer and more 
populous North. They disliked the North, because of the 
tariff which it put on English goods, and because the 
war prevented England's getting the cotton it needed 
to run its factories; besides, Englishmen did not believe 
that the North was sincere in opposing slavery. Glad- 
stone shared these feelings, in part, and in 1862 he said: 

"We may have our own opinions about slavery; we 
may be for or against the South. But there is no doubt 
that Jefferson Davis and other leaders of the South have 
made an a rmy ; they are making, it appears, a navy • and 
they have made what is more than either, they have 
made a nation." 

Long afterwards Mr. Gladstone admitted that it was 
a great mistake for him to make such a speech. The 
Northern States were already very angry with Great 
Britain for its favor to the South, and this speech made 
people think that the British government intended to 
recognize Southern independence. Matters became 
worse when Great Britain permitted Southern cruisers, 
like the Alabama, to set out from British ports and 
destroy the shipping and commerce of the North. At 
times, there was real danger of war 1 jet ween the United 
States and England. 

In the end, it was Mr. Gladstone who removed the 



GLADSTONE AND DISRAELI 



351 



las! disagreement between the two countries, growing 
out of this war. In 1871 his government agreed that the 
"Alabama claims" should be submitted for decision to 
arbitrators, chosen chiefly by the rulers of Italy, Switzer- 
land, and Brazil. The arbitrators decided that Great 

Britain was wrong, 
and that she should 
pay to the United 
States the sum of 
$15,000,000 for the 
damages done by 
the Southern 
cruisers. Many 
Englishmen pro- 
tested against this 
decision, but it was 
one of Gladstone's 
strong points that 
he never hesitated 
to confess it when 
he knew that he 
was in the wrong. 
and to do what he 
could to make 
matters right. 

For more than twenty years, Mr. Gladstone's chief 
opponent in politics was Benjamin Disraeli, whom 
Queen Victoria made Earl of Beaconsfield. 
Disraeli was the son of Jewish parents, but becomes 
was himself a Christian. He was a writer of fea e dl? nes 
well-known novels, as well as a statesman. 
When he hist entered Parliament he was a radical in 
politics, but later became a Tory. He was one of the 
leaders of those who deserted Peel on the question of the 




WILLIAM EWART GLADSTONE 



352 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

repeal of the Corn Laws, and was very bitter in his 
attacks on that statesman. He said that Peel had "caught 
the Whigs bathing, and had walked off with their clothes" 
— meaning that he had stolen his ideas from the Whigs. 
Disraeli was a very brilliant speaker, and in many ways 
was an able statesman; and, since men of ability were 
scarce on the Tory side after Peel's downfall, it was not 
long before Disraeli became their most important 
member. Under his leadership, the Tories became more 
liberal, and less opposed to needed reforms; he also gave 
more prominence to foreign and colonial questions than 
the Whigs. 

For a number of years, the Whigs had been trying to 
pass a new measure of Parliamentary reform, which 
should take away more of the rotten boroughs, and give 
the right of voting to more people. 

"You cannot fight against the future," said Glad- 
stone to the Tories, who were opposing this step. " Time 
is on our side." 

But the Whig reform measure was defeated, by votes 
of the Tories and of Whigs who sided with them against 
their own leaders. 

Then the Tories, or Conservatives, came into power, 

with Mr. Disraeli as their leader in the House of Com- 

mons; and they proceeded, in 1867, to pass a 

Bin of measure ever so much more radical than the 

one proposed by the Liberals. It more than 

doubled the number of voters, by giving the vote to the 

workingmen in the towns. Those Liberals who had 

aided the Tories in turning Mr. Gladstone out of office 

protested in vain against this Conservative bill. Even 

the Tory leader, in the House of Lords, had his doubts 

about the measure : "It is a leap in the dark," he said. 

But, under Disraeli's urging, the Tories took the leap. 



GLADSTONE AND DISRAELI 353 

One result of this step was that, after a time, the working 
people became less opposed to the Tories, and that party 
regained a great deal of the power it had lost in 1832. 

But the first effect of this Reform Act, in the elections 
held in 1868, was to give the Liberal party a majority of 
the House of Commons. For the first time 
Mr. Gladstone became Prime Minister, at fi r ! g t d8tone 
the age of sixty years; and during the five J^fme 168 
years that he now held that office, he passed fjgjg^ 61 ' 
reform after reform. 

One of the first matters that he dealt with was the 
Church question in Ireland. Nine-tenths of the people 
there were Catholics; nevertheless, the people 
were long taxed to support the Protestant church 
Episcopal established Church. In many 2JJJied! n 
parishes there were no worshipers in the 
fine buildings of the established Church, while the poor 
tumble-down Catholic chapels, near by, were crowded 
and overflowing. Against bitter opposition, Gladstone 
passed a law by which the Protestant Church in Ireland 
was disestablished — that is, it ceased to be supported 
by the state, and was put on much the same footing as 
the Catholic Church there. The measure was very 
gratifying to the oppressed people of Ireland. 

"Thank God," said an Irishman, when the measure 
became a law, "the bridge is at last broken down that 
has so long separated the English and Irish peoples." 

Ireland still had many injustices to complain of, but 
one of the oldest of them was now done away with. 
And again and again, in after years, as will be shown in 
the next chapter, Mr. Gladstone tried to remove further 
injustices, and to improve Ireland's sad condition. 

In England, also, he carried out many reforms. When 
the right of voting was given to the workingmen, in 1867, 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 




GLADSTONE AND DISRAELI 355 

one of the Whigs who had opposed that measure said: 
" Now we must educate our masters." 

Gladstone fully agreed that more provision should be 
made for educating- the people, and in 1870 he passed a 
law for establishing new elementary schools „ 

° * , Elementary 

in places which needed them, and supporting schools es- 

* » L l . * tablished. 

them by local taxes. Other laws have since 
increased the number and importance of these schools, 
but England is still far behind the United States in its 
free public school system. 

Mr. Gladstone passed many other laws for doing 
away with injustices and abuses. One of these was a 
reform by which officers in the army were no other use- 
longer obliged to purchase their offices from ful laws - 
those who went before them, thus making it easier for a 
poor man to secure promotion. Another was a law by 
which voting in elections was made secret, by ballot, 
instead of being done openly as before; thus poor men 
could vote for whom they pleased, without fear of their 
employer, landlord, or anybody. He also opened the 
Universities of Oxford and Cambridge to Dissenters, 
Catholics, and Jews, who formerly were prevented, by 
religious tests, from being graduated there. 

These reforms followed one another so rapidly that 
they quite took the breath away from many people. As 
a result, Gladstone's government began to Mr 
lose its hold on the country. Disraeli, the alteited 6 
leader of the Conservatives, jokingly described ( 1874 >- 
the Liberal ministers, in Parliament, as "a row of 
extinct volcanoes," and of Mr. Gladstone he said: 

" You have now had four years of it. You have 
despoiled churches. You have examined into every- 
body's affairs. You have criticized every profession and 
vexed every trade. No one is certain of his property, and 



356 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

nobody knows what duties he may have to perform 
tomorrow. I believe that the people of this country have 
had enough of the policy of confiscation." 

And so it seemed, for when the elections were held in 
1874 the Liberals were defeated, and Disraeli and the 
Conservatives came into office. 

Gladstone was now sixty-five years old, and he decided 

to retire from the leadership of his party, while continuing 

to sit in the House of Commons. As it proved, 

again ° B events were too strong for him. Disraeli and 

Minister, his party showed such favor to the Turkish 

Empire, where Christians were being greatly 

abused, that Mr. Gladstone attacked their policy; and 

when Disraeli (now Earl of Beaconsfield) was forced to 

resign his position as Prime Minister, Mr. Gladstone was 

for a second time (1880-1885) called to that office. And, 

during this term as Prime Minister, he became so much 

interested in attempting to settle the questions relating 

to Ireland that he continued to lead the Liberal party 

even after his second fall from office. So, for twenty 

years after 1874, he was one of the most important 

persons in British politics, and was Prime Minister — not 

merely for a second time — but for a third and a fourth 

time also. It was in this period especially that he came to be 

known all the world over as England's "Grand Old Man." 

But, as the measures with which he was now concerned 

dealt mainly with Ireland, it will be well to consider 

them separately, in another chapter. 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Read an account of the boyhood and school life of Gladstone. 

2. Compare Gladstone and Disraeli as men and as statesmen. 

3. Compare the changes made by the reform of Parliament in 

]832 with those made in 1867. 

4. With what sort of reforms was Gladstone occupied in his first 

Prime Ministership? With what was he chiefly occupied in 
his later ministries? 



- 



XXXIX 



ENGLAND AND IRELAND 



POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Ireland in early times; English conquest and rule; confiscations 
of lands in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; "tenant 
farmers" and "absentee" landlords; other English oppres- 
sions of Ireland. 

Effects of the American Revolution and the French Revolution 
on Ireland; the Act of Union; changes in the early nineteenth 
century. 

Charles Stewart Parnell, and the Irish Land League; the "three 
F V; Irish land question practically settled. 

The "Home Rule" movement; Gladstone converted to it; divi- 
sion in the Liberal party; Gladstone fails to pass his Home 
Rule bill, in 1886 and 1893. 

Causes of the weakening of the Home Rule movement; present 
state of the question. 



In order to understand the disturbing questions about 
Ireland, which filled the latter part of Victoria's reign, 
we must look at the whole history of Ireland's connection 
with England. 

The inhabitants of Ireland were Celts, like the early 
Britons, and until the twelfth century were independent 
of the rulers of their sister island. They Ire i and in 
became Christians before the English did, ear,y times - 
and in literature and art they reached a high stage of 
civilization. But in industry and in government they 
lagged behind, largely because they remained organized 
by clans and tribes, and were ruled over by a number of 
petty Kings. 

357 



358 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



Henry II. was the first King of England to make 

himself "Lord of Ireland"; but, for long after his time, 

all that this title meant was the possession of 

Kings a small district about Dublin, called " the 

conquer 

Ireland Pale," and a very loose lordship over the 
Celtic chiefs and Kings who ruled the rest 
of the island. It was not until the time of the Tudors 
that the English "Lord of Ireland" became its King, 
ruling over the whole land, and forcing the English 
language and English customs upon it. 

At the time of the 
Reformation, the 



Ireland 

remains 

Catholic. 



became 



English, 
after much 
hesitation, 
Protestant, 




AN IRISH CABIN 

Made of stones and earth, plastered over, 

and "thatched" with straw. It has 

no windows, and only the 

earth for a floor 



but the Irish remained 
Catholic. The hatred 
which was born of 
religious differences 
was thus added to 
that which was felt by 
a conquered race for 

the race which had conquered it. To these hatreds were 
later added those caused by robbing the Irish of much of 
their lands, and by great economic and political injustice. 
When an Irish chieftain rebelled, or was accused of 
treason, the English government confiscated the land of 
his whole tribe, regardless of the rights of 

Irish lands ° . . .,, 

confiscated those who were not concerned in his guilt. 

These confiscated lands were then given out 

to English and Scottish colonists, who settled on them; 

or else they were granted to favorites of the crown, who 

drew the rents from the lands without living in Ireland. 



ENGLAND AND IRELAND 359 

This policy began under Mary Tudor; it was continued 
under Elizabeth and James I.; and it was completed 
under Cromwell. Two-thirds of the fertile land of 
Ireland thus came to be owned by foreigners, who at 
the same time were usually Protestants. 

The great mass of the Irish people became " tenant 
farmers," under these "absentee" landlords. They 
lived in miserable hovels, paid high rents, and were 
liable to be turned out of their little farms at a moment's 
notice. The English statesman, Disraeli, once said that 
the Irish peasants were "the worst housed, worst fed, 
and the worst clothed in Europe." For this condition of 
affairs, the rulers of England were chiefly responsible. 

In addition to other injustices, the English Parliament 
passed laws, in the seventeenth century, which crushed 
Irish industry and commerce. Ireland was 
excluded from the benefits of the Navigation oppresses 
Acts, which built up England's commerce; {f663-?699) 
and also the Irish were forbidden to send 
their cattle, sheep, and fresh meats, their butter and 
cheese to England for fear that they would injure the 
trade of the English landowners. Ireland, for a time, 
made great progress in wool-raising — for which her 
green pastures well fitted her — and also in manufacturing 
woolen goods. But, in the year 1690, the English Parlia- 
ment checked these also; for it passed an act forbidding 
the export of Irish wool and woolen goods to any country 
except England, and there the import duties were made 
so heavy as practically to shut them out. 

We must add to all this that the Irish Parliament, 
which sat at Dublin, was made up entirely of Protestants, 
who were usually of English or Scottish descent. For a 
long time it had little real power, and was almost com- 
pletely under the control of the government of England. 



360 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

Also, the Irish Catholics, who made up seven-tenths of 
the population, had no vote, and (until 17 w 20) were not 
even permitted to worship according to their own faith. 

Is it any wonder, then, that the Irish came to cherish 
a bitter hatred for England, and that, in spite of all that 
England has since done to right Ireland's wrongs, that 
feeling is still strong and active ? 

The American Revolution gave the Irish their first 

opportunity for bettering their condition. While Great 

, . Britain was busied with her revolted colonies, 

Irish Parlia- m . 

ment made and at war with France, the Irish raised a 

free (1780). 

strong force and demanded that the Parlia- 
ment at Dublin should be given full rights to legislate. 
and that the laws against Irish trade should be repealed. 
This was granted; and, also, a little later Catholics were 
given the right to vote. 

But Irish manufactures and trade were too thoroughly 

crushed to rise again for many years; and the legislative 

independence which was won as a result of 

lofes^ts tne American Revolution was soon lost as a 

a a 8oi? ment result ot " the French Revolution. The landing 

of French forces in Ireland, and the rising 

of the Irish in rebellion in 1798, taught England the 

danger of an independent Irish Parliament. So an Act 

of Union was passed, by which (in 1801), Ireland lost 

its Parliament, and instead was given representatives in 

the Parliament of Great Britain, sitting at Westminster. 

How Catholics, in 1829. through O'ConnelFs agitation. 

gained the right to sit in this Parliament, has already 

been told. We have also seen how a great 

m^rly 8 famine came upon Ireland in 1846, through 

century nth a ^ a ^ ure °f tne P ota t° crop; and how, in spite 

of the repeal of the Corn Laws, this led several 

millions of people to emigrate, most of them coming to 



ENGLAND AND IRELAND 



361 



the United States. And in telling the story of Mr. 

© j 

Gladstone, we have also. seen how he was led, in 1868, to 
disestablish the Protestant Episcopal Church in Ireland, 
and thus remove the worst of the religious grievances 
which still remained. 

This, however, was only the beginning of what Mr. 
Gladstone did, or attempted to do, for Ireland. In 1870, 

he got Parliament 
to pass his first 
Irish Land Act, 
which was in- 
tended to better 
the condition of 
the Irish tenants. 
But the Act did 
not go far 
enough, and the 
landlords were 
able to rob the 
tenants of some 
of the expected 
benefits. 

Then there was 

organized in Ire- 

© 

land a 




CHARLES STEWART PARXELL 



Work of 
great Irish Land 
League. 

Land 
League, with 



an 

Irish member of Parliament — Charles Stewart Parnell 
— at its head. This body demanded the "three F's" — 
fixity of tenure, or the right of the tenant to keep his land 
as long as he paid the rent for it; free sale, or the right to 
sell his interest in the land to whomever the tenant 
wanted; and fair rent, which would prevent the landlord 



362 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

from raising the rent whenever the tenant made improve- 
ments, or the landlord found somebody who would offer 
more money. Landlords and tenants who violated these 
principles were ''boycotted," as it was called, from the 
name of Captain Boycott, the first victim. The Irish 
people would have nothing to do with a boycotted person, 
would not buy from him or sell to him, would not work 
for him or with him, would not even stay in a church 
which he entered. More violent punishments were 
used at times, and the just cause of Ireland was stained 
by the burning of barns and houses, the injuring of 
cattle, and occasional murders. Great Britain answered 
such crimes by suspending the right to trial by juries 
freely selected, and by other harsh acts. Then the Irish 
members in Parliament, in order to draw attention to 
Ireland's grievances, began a policy of "Obstruction" — 
that is, of opposing anything and everything which came 
up in Parliament, until Ireland's ills should be remedied. 
All this had such effect that, in 1881, Mr. Gladstone 
was able to pass a second Irish Land Act, which prac- 
irish land tically granted the "three F's." But the 
settied° n troubles still continued, and even the arrest 
(1881-1903). and sen ding to jail of Mr. Parnell and other 
Irish leaders did not help matters. 

Finally it was seen that the Irish land question would 
never be settled until the Irish peasant became the owner 
of the land which he tilled. Accordingly, a new policy 
was adopted. In 1885, Parliament passed a law which 
set aside a sum of money, which should be loaned to the 
Irish peasants to assist them in buying their lands. By 
later laws, especially one which was passed in 1903, 
this sum was very greatly increased. The result is that 
more than one fourth of the land which formerly was 
rented now belongs to the occupants, who are repaying 



ENGLAND AND IRELAND 



363 



to the government, little by little, the money which they 
borrowed to purchase it. Thus the Irish land question 
is now in a fair way to be satisfactorily settled. 

But, meanwhile, a much more troublesome question 
had arisen, which still remains unsolved. This is the 
question of "Home Rule" for Ireland, or the 

. -r» Question of 

setting up again of a Parliament at Dublin, Home Rule 
with full power over Irish affairs. Under the 
skilful leadership of Mr. Parnell, the Irish Party in 
Parliament became strong and united. It was seen that 
something must be done — either grant Home Rule, at 
least in part, or else pass very severe laws to put down 
the disorder and disturbance. 

Mr. Gladstone believed, as he said, that "it is liberty 

alone which fits men for liberty." He favored giving 

______________ Ireland a central 

council of its own to 
carry on the govern- 
ment, but to withhold 
for a time the grant of 
a Parliament. A ma- 
jority of his Cabinet, 
however, opposed this 
plan because it went too 
far, and it was not intro- 
duced in Parliament. 
The next year (1886), Mr. Gladstone declared that 
he had become converted entirely to the cause of Home 
Rule. A portion of the Liberal party there- 
upon deserted him, and formed a Liberal Hom^Rule 
Unionist party which acted with the Conser- fg"!,.' 1886 ' 
vatives. Mr. Gladstone now tried, with the 
assistance of the Irish Party and of the Liberals who 
remained faithful to him, to pass a bill giving Ireland a 




A STREET IN DUBLIN 



364 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

Parliament of its own. The measure was defeated in the 
House of Commons, however, and for a time Gladstone 
ceased to be Prime Minister. When his party was again 
victorious at the elections, and he became Prime Minister 
for the fourth time, in 1892, he made a second attempt 
to pass a Home Rule bill. This time he was successful 
in the House of Commons, but the bill was defeated in 
the House of Lords. 

Mr. Parnell, meanwhile, had become a party to a 
divorce scandal, and this divided and greatly weakened 
the Irish party. His death shortly afterward did not 
have the effect of healing these divisions. Mr. Gladstone 
retired from political life in 1894, after sixty-one years of 
service in Parliament; and in 1898 he died, at the 
age of eighty-nine. This also weakened the cause of 
Ireland. 

But the demand for Home Rule still continues. The 
Irish party, which is now once more reunited, declares 
that no government for Ireland will be satis- 
stltl nt factory to them which does not include a 
question. Parliament able to make laws for Ireland, 
and also ministers for Ireland who shall be 
responsible to their own Parliament. The English 
Liberals now favor a policy of " Home Rule by instal- 
ments," or giving to Ireland, little by little, the right to 
manage its own affairs. Time alone can tell whether 
the movement will continue until Ireland, like Canada, 
has a Parliament of its own; or whether, when the land 
question is fully settled, and further improvements have 
been made in local government, Ireland, like Scotland, 
will be proud to send her representatives to the central 
Parliament for the whole British Empire, and leave to 
it that right of making laws for Ireland which it now 
possesses. 



ENGLAND AND IRELAND 3t>5 



TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Bead an account of the geography and people of Ireland. 

2. Make a list of the injuries which Ireland received from 

England. 

3. Write a brief sketch of Charles Stewart Parnell. 

4. Make a list of the things which Gladstone did or tried to do 

for Ireland. 

5. Let two pupils debate the question of Home Rule for Ireland, 

one speaking for it, the other against it. 



XL 



THE BRITISH EMPIRE UNDER 
EDWARD VII. 

POINTS TO BE NOTICED 

Death of Queen Victoria; importance of her reign; the Boer 
War; how it increased the Empire; accession of Edward VII. 

Extent of the British Empire; Canada; Australia and New Zea- 
land; British South Africa; British occupation of Egypt; 
India. 

The bonds which hold the Empire together; what Great Britain 
has done for the world. 

On January 22, 1901, the news was flashed all over 

the world that the long reign of Queen Victoria had come 

to an end. She had reigned for nearly 

Oulln° f sixty-four years, and died at the age of eighty- 

|i90i > ) ria one. She had been a loving wife and mother, 

and a good Queen. Her reign was glorious, 

not because of wars and conquests, but because of the 

progress of good which it brought, and the uplifting 

of the people. 

In her last years a cruel war was fought between the 
British and the " Boers," or inhabitants of the Dutch 
republics in South Africa. Great Britain was successful 
in the end, and the Boer republics were annexed to the 
British Empire; but the British suffered many defeats 
before this was accomplished, and the gallant fight 
which the Boers made aroused great sympathy. The 
Queen was much distressed by this war, and her last 
words were: 

"Oli, that peace may come!'' 

366 



BRITISH EMPIRE UNDER EDWARD VII. 367 



Queen Victoria was succeeded on the throne by her 
eldest son, Edward VII. , who had long been known as 
the Prince of Wales. He was sixty years of _, 

• • King 

age, and was well prepared to continue the ^ward 
wise rule of his mother. He has four grown 
children, and the eldest of these — George Frederick, 
now the Prince of Wales — in turn has four sons, so that 
it is not likelv that this line of English Kings will die out. 
The British Empire, as Edward VII. received it from 

his mother, is one of the 
greatest t h a t ^ 

& The 

the world has British 

Empire. 

ever seen. It 
includes lands all over 
the globe, and if it is 
wisely ruled — as it seems 
likely that it will be — it 
will continue to be held 
together, and prove a 
great source of good to 
the world. 

But the problem is 
how to unite the widely 

QUEEN VICTORIA, IN OLD AGE . . * 

scattered lands, by giving 

them a voice in the central government of the Empire. 

The greatest of the possessions of Great Britain, and 

the most important, perhaps, after the mother country 

itself, is Canada. This was taken from the 

Canada. 

French in 1763, and settlement in it has since 
spread to the Pacific Ocean. It is a rich and fertile land, 
in spite of its cold climate; and its people are mainly of 
British blood and speech. Its different provinces have 
their own legislatures; and since 1867 Canada as a 
whole has had a federal government somewhat like that 




368 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



of the United States. In nearly everything the Cana- 
dians govern themselves, though the Governor-General 
is sent out to them from Great Britain by the home 
government. In the Boer war the Canadians proved 
their loyalty by sending soldiers to aid the mother 
country. 

Australia is the second in importance of the British 

colonies. The coasts of this island-continent were 

explored by Captain Cook, an officer in the 

\ li st rill i u 

and New British navy, in 1770; and the first settlement 
was made there by the British in 1788. Gold 
was discovered in 
Australia in 1851, 
and great fortunes 
were made by 
lucky miners; but 
a more important 
source of wealth 
was found in the 
raising of sheep. 
Five colonies were 
established on the 
mainland, and 
another i n the 
near-by island of 
Tasmania, each 
with its own 
legislature and 
governor; and in 
1901 all five were 
united together into a federal government, under the 
name of the Commonwealth of Australia. This, too, 
is a self-governing colony, made up of men mainly of 
British blood and speech; and it, also, proved its 




EDWARD VII. 



BRITISH EMPIRE UNDER EDWARD VII. 369 

loyalty and affection for the mother country by the aid 
which it sent at the time of the Boer war. 

The two great islands of New Zealand, which together 
are twice as large as all England, are more than a thou- 
sand miles distant from Australia, and thus are not 
included in that commonwealth. They make up a 
separate self-governing colony, which is very progressive 
and prosperous. 

Cape Colony, in South Africa, was conquered from 
Holland in 1806, while that country was aiding Napoleon 
in his wars against Great Britain. Gold, and 

, . . , British 

also diamond mines, were discovered here, South 

. . . . . Africa. 

and the white settlements have greatly 
increased, though the natives (negroes) are still twice as 
numerous as the whites. The conquest of the Boer 
republics strengthened British rule in South Africa, and 
the fairness with which the conquered Boers were 
treated reconciled them to that rule. Here, too, a move- 
ment was successful, in 1909, in uniting all the different 
British colonies into a federal state, called United South 
Africa. One of the ablest and broadest-minded of the 
statesmen who brought this about was the Boer leader, 
General Botha. "I want the King and the British 
people to realize," he said, ''that the trust reposed in us 
has been worthily taken up, and I hope that they will 
have cause of pride in the young South African nation." 
Egypt, in Northern Africa, is not properly a part of 
the British Empire, for it has its own ruler (called the 

Khedive). But since 1881 British soldiers „ 

' . . Egypt, 

have guarded the country, and British officers 

have aided the Egyptian rulers. This "British occupa- 
tion" has been of very great advantage to the country, 
for taxes have become less, justice has become more 
certain, order has been kept, and great public works 



370 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 




BRITISH EMPIRE UNDER EDWARD VII. 371 

have been built, so that the condition of the people has 
greatly improved. Especially noteworthy is a series of 
enormous dams, which pen up the waste waters of the 
river Nile, while it is in flood, and gradually let them 
out later, so that the desert lands become rich fields of 
cotton, sugar-cane, and rice. Another great thing 
which they have done is the building of a railroad 
southward, which will meet one which is being built 
northward from Cape Colony. When this is completed 
it will be possible to go by rail for five thousand miles 
—through Egyptian desert and tropical jungle, where 
lions, elephants, and rhinoceroses abound — from Cairo 
in Egypt to the Cape of Good Hope. It is likely that 
the British will stay in Egypt for many years, and so 
that land may almost be counted as one of the countries 
over which they rule. 

Then there is the great Empire of India, won for 
Great Britain by the East India Company, and now 
ruled by the British government. This is 

& . India. 

half as large as the whole of the United States, 
and has four times as many people as our country. 
Unlike most other British possessions, India had an old 
and very highly developed civilization when Europeans 
first went there. There was no room for new settle- 
ments, so the British still continue very few in that land. 
As a result, India has not been given the right of self- 
government, as have the other lands named. But, even 
in India, some share in the government is now promised 
to the people. 

These are the chief lands which make up the British 
Empire, outside the mother country herself: Canada; 
Australia and the neighboring islands of New The bonds 
Zealand; South Africa; and India. Besides ofEm P ire - 
these there are many islands, and small possessions on 



372 THE STORY OF ENGLAND 

the continents of South America, Africa, and Asia, 
which cannot be shown on the accompanying map. 
War and commerce, the explorer's lonely courage, and 
the colonist's hardy enterprise, have all contributed to 
its up-building. 

"Time, and the ocean, and some fostering star, 
In high cabal have made us what we are, 
Who stretch one hand to Huron's bearded pines, 
And one on Kashmir's snowy shoulder lay, 
And round the streaming of whose raiment shines 
The iris of the Australasian spray. 
For waters have connived at our designs, 
And winds have plotted with us — and behold, 
Kingdom on kingdom, sway on oversway, 
Dominion fold in fold ! " 

What is it that binds together this vast empire ? Is 
it the power of Great Britain's army and navy ? 

India and Egypt are partly held by military force, but 
this is not so of those great lands which are inhabited by 
men of the same blood and speech as the British them- 
selves. It is affection that keeps them true to their 
imperial mother, and the knowledge that membership in 
that Empire makes them all safer and more prosperous. 
A poet has described Great Britain as a lion, and the 
self-governing colonies as its full grown cubs, ready to 
come at the lion's call to its assistance: 

"The Lion stands by his shore alone 
And sends, to the bounds of Earth and Sea, 
First low notes of the thunder to be. 
Then East and West, through the vastness grim, 
The Whelps of the Lion answer him." 

But what does this growth of England, and the spread 
of its power through the British Empire, mean for the 
rest of the world ? Does it mean war, and conquest, and 
tyranny, and oppression ? 

No, it means peace, and good order, and above all the 
spread of free institutions. 



BRITISH EMPIRE UNDER EDWARD VII. 373 

Great Britain has given the world improved machinery, 
and cheap goods of many sorts. Her merchants and 
sailors, more than those of any other nation, 
have helped to knit the whole world together Britain 
into one society. The food upon our tables, 
the clothes which we wear, and the furnishings of our 
houses are brought together from all over the world 
largely by their enterprise. She has made the English 
language the most widely spoken tongue in the world, 
and has given to those who speak it a priceless literature. 
In the days following the Reformation in religion, 
England was the chief champion of Protestantism, when 
it seemed that the Protestant religion was about to 
perish. In more modern times, Great Britain has been 
foremost in putting down slavery everywhere, and in 
movements for bettering the world's conditions. 

Most of all, we owe to Great Britain the spread 
throughout civilized lands of such rights as trial by jury, 
free speech, and constitutional government. It was the 
English people who first discovered and established 
these rights, and it was from England, and English- 
speaking peoples, that the rest of the world has received 
these priceless gifts. 

TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 

1. Make a list of the chief events of Victoria's reign. 

2. Find out what you can about the Boer War. What were the 

causes of the war? How has Great Britain treated the 
Boers since the war? 

3. Find out what you can about the government of Canada. 

Compare it with the government of the United States. 

4. Read an account of Captain Cook and his voyages. 

5. Ought Great Britain to withdraw from Egypt? Give your 

reasons. 

6. Ought Great Britain to give "home rule" to India? Give 

your reasons. 

7. What can Great Britain do to draw her colonies closer to 

herself f 



INDEX 



Diacritical Marks: a as in late; a as in fat; a as in far; a as in care; e 
as in me; e as in met; r as in there; g as in firem; I as in ice; 1 as in tin; h the 
French nasal; 6 as in note; 6 as in not; 6 as in for; ii the French u. Single 
italic letters are silent. 



Act of Settlement, 259. 

Ag'-in-court, battle of, 146-148. 

A-gri'-co-la, 15. 

Alabama claims, 350, 351. 

Albert, Prince, 339. 

Alfred, King, 42-49. 

American Revolution, 288-295, 360. 

An'-ge-vin kings, 68. See Plantagenet 

Ang'-les, 20-23. 

Anne, Queen, 248-267. 

An'-selm, Archbishop, 65. 

Ark'-wright, Richard, 297. 

Ar-ma'-da, the, 198-200. 

Arthur, King, 23, 24. 

Arthur, Prince, 91, 92. 

Ar'-yans, 7, 8. 

Au'-gus-tine, Saint, 30, 31. 

Australia, 283, 368, 369. 

Austria, 262-264, 271, 273, 313, 319. 

Austrian Succession, War of, 271-273. 

Bacon, Sir Francis, 201. 

Ball, John, 134, 136. 

Bank of England, 257. 

Ban'-nock-burn, battle of, 112. 

"Barebone's Parliament," 232. 

Bar'-net, "battle of, 162. 

Barons, win the Great Charter, 95-99; 

wars against Henry III., 100-104. 
Battle, trial by, 73-74. 
Bea'-cons-field, Earl of, 351-356. 
Beck'-et, Thomas, 75-77. 
Bede, 22, 37, 38, 48. 
Bedford, Duke of, 149, 150, 152. 
Benedict, Saint, 35, 36. 
Bih of Rights, 250, 258. 
Bishops' Wars, 215. 
Black Death, 127-129. 



"Black Hole," 281. 

Black Prince, 123-127, 130. 

Blen'-^eim, battle of, 263, 264. 

Blu'-cher, General, 321. 

Bo-a-di-ce'-a, 14, 15. 

Boer War, 366, 368. 

Boleyn (bul'-in), Anne, Queen, 177, 

180. 
Bol'-ing-broke, Henry, 138, 139. See 

also Henry IV. 
Bon'-i-face, Saint, 34, 35. 
" Boston Massacre,' 290. 
"Boston Tea-Party," 290. 
Bo'-t/ia, General, 369. 
Both'-well, Lord, 194-196. 
"Boycott," 362. 
Boyne, battle of, 253. 
Braddock, General, 276, 
Bretigny (bre-ten-yi'), Peace of, 126. 
British Empire, 283, 295, 323, 366, 

373. 
Britons, 7-10. 
Bruce, Robert, 112. 
Buckingham, Duke of, 210-212. 
Burgoyne (ber-goin), General, 292, 

293. 
Bur'-gun-dy, Dukes of, 149, 152. 
Burke, Edmund, 287-289. 
Burleigh (ber'-li), Lord, 189. 

Cabinet, rise of, 268, 269. 
Cable, subinarine, 341. 
Cabot, John, 168. 
Cade, Jack, rebellion of, 154, 155. 
Caesar, Julius, 13, 14. 
Calais (ka-la'), 124, 189. 
Canada, 279, 280, 282, 292, 296, 364, 
367, 368,371. 



375 



376 



THE STORY QF ENGLAND 



Canterbury, 31, 34, 35, 75, 76, 78. 

Can-ute', King, conquers England, 
51, 52. 

Cape Colony, 323, 369. 

Caroline, Queen, 269. 

Cartwright, Dr., 298, 299. 

"Casket Letters," 195. 

Catherine, Queen, 175, 177. 

Catholics, persecution of, 201 ; plots of, 
206, 207; Charies II. favors, 240, 
241; a "Popish Plot" ascribed to 
242; excluded from Parliament by 
test acts, 241 , 242; James II. favors 
245-247; excluded from the throne, 
250; re-admitted to Parliament, 
328; in Ireland, 353, 360. 

"Cavaliers," 219, 221. 

Cawnpore (kan-por'), 346. 

Cax'-ton, William, 167, 168. 

Cecil (ses'-fl), William, Lord Burleigh, 
189. 

Celts, 7, 8, 23, 32-34, 357. 

Charlemagne (ehar'-le-man), 36, 39. 

Charles I., King, 209-226, 275, 286. 

Charles II., King, 228-230, 233-243, 
275. 

Charles V., Emperor, 172-175, 186. 

Charles VI., King of France, 149. 

Charter, the Great, 96-98. 

Chat'-/iam, Earl of, See Pitt, William. 

Children, employment of, 333, 334. 

Christianity, brought by Romans to 
Britain, 17; introduced into Ire- 
land, 17; disappears from England, 
22; re-introduced by St. Augustine, 
30; triumph of Roman Christianity 
over Celts, 33, 34. 

Chronicle, The Old English, 48. 

Church, the, 34, 35, 39, 75, 178, 179, 
182, 187-191, 194, 200, 205, 214, 
217,236,246,306,307, 353. 

Clarence, Duke of, 160, 161. 

Clarkson, Thomas, 332. 

Clive (kliv), Robert (Lord), 280, 281. 

Coffee, tea, and chocolate, introduced, 
235. 

Colonies, the American, 206, 264, 271, 
274, 275, 288-295; Canada, 279, 
280, 282, 295, 296; South African, 
323, 369; Australia, 283, 368. 

Commonwealth, the, 227-233. 



Conservative party. See Tory. 

"Continental System," 318. 

"Convention Parliament," 250. 

Cook, Captain, 368. 

Corn Laws, 342, 343. 

Cornwallis (korn-wol'-is), Lord, 294. 

Cran'-mer, Thomas, Archbishop, 177, 

187. 
Crecy (kra-se'), battle of, 122-125. 
Crimean War, 343-345. 
Cromp'-ton, Samuel, 297. 
Crom'-well, Oliver, 220-233, 237, 238. 
Cromwell Richard, 232, 233. 
Cromwell, Thomas, 180. 
Crusades, 83-87, 90, 106, 107. 

''Danes," 40-44, 50-52. 

Dane'-geld, 51. 

Danelaw, 45-49. 

Darn'-ley, Lord, 194. 

Democracy, rise of, 132-136, 154-156, 

183, 227, 228, 232, 305, 326, 327, 

329, 331, 355. 
Dispensing power,' 245, 246. 
Disraeli (diz-ra'-li) , Benjamin (Earl 

of Beaconsfiel.l), 351-356, 359. 
Dissenters, 236, 240, 256, 328. 
Domesday Survey, 63, 64. 
Drake, Sir Francis, 197-199. 
Druids, 9. 

Dudley, Lord Guildford, 185. 
Dunbar, battle of, 228. 
Duquesne (du-kan'), Fort, 276. 

Fast Anglia, 23. 

Bast India Company, 280, 347. 

Education, elementary, 355. 

Edward the Confessor, 53. 

Edward I., King, 102, 103, 106-112. 

Edward II., King, 113, 114. 

Edward III., King, 113, 120-130. 

Edward IV., King, 159-162. 

Edward V., King, 162, 163. 

Edward VI., King, 182-185. 

Edward VII., King, 367. 

Edward, Prince (son of Henry VI.), 

156, 158, 162. 
Eg'-bert, King, 39, 40. 
Egypt, 313, 314, 369, 371. 
Eleanor of Aquitane, 68, 78, 93. 
Eliot, Sir John, 212, 213. 



INDEX 



377 



Elizabeth, Queen, 180, 189-203, 245. 

Elizabeth of York, 163, 164. 

England, origin of name, 2, 22; Hept- 
archic kingdom of. 23; union of, 39, 
40; Danes in, 41-4-5, 50-52; Nor- 
man Conquest 54-58; Wars with 
France, 64, 78, 89, 92, 93, 98, 121- 

126, 146-153, 173-175, 189, 211, 
255,256, 262-264, 271-273, 276- 
283, 293, 311-322; Wars of the 
Roses, 154-164; Reformation in, 
172-191; Civil War between King 
and Parliament, 219-226; Com- 
monwealth and Protectorate, 
227-233 ; Restoration, 23 1 2 13 : 
"Glorious Revolution," 244-251; 
Union of Scotland with, 265; Han- 
overian succession, 267; expansion 
of, 274-283, 323, 366-373, loses 
American colonies, 288-295- Indus- 
trial Revolution in, 296-308; in 
nineteenth century, 325 356; and 
Ireland, 357-364. See also Great 
Britain. 

Essex, kingdom of, 23. 

Eth'-el-red, I, King, 43. 

Ethelred II, the "Unready," 50, 51 g 

Eugene of Savoy, 263. 

Eves'-ham, battle of, 103. 

Excommunication, 95. 

Factory system, 302, 333-335. 

Fal'-kirk, battle of, 111. 

Fawkes (faks), Guy, 207. 

Feudal system, 60-62. 

Field of the Cloth of Gold, 175. 

Fox, Charles James, 292, 317. 

France, 64, 78, 79, 89, 92, 93, 98, 121- 

127, 146-153, 173-175, 189, 255, 
256, 262-264, 271-274, 276-283, 
293,294,311-322,344. 

Francis I., of France, 172-175. 
Frederick the Great, of Prussia, 271, 

276, 277, 281,282. 
Free trade established, 343. 
French and Indian War, 277. 
French Revolution, 309-323. 
Fulton, Robert, 340. 

Gaul, 13, 34. 
Gav'-es-ton, Piers, 113. 



George I., King, 267, 268, 269, 284. 
George II., King, 268, 269, 271, 275, 

278, 281, 284. 
George III., King, 282, 284-295, 325- 

328, 340. . 
George IV., King, 325-328. 
Glad'-stone, William Ewart, 348-356, 

361-364. 
Glen'-coe, Massacre of, 254, 255. 
Glendower (glen'-dor), Owen, 143. 
Gloucester (glos'-ter), Duke of. See 

Richard III. 
God'-win, Earl, 53. 
"Grand Remonstrance," 218. 
Great Britain, geography of, 3-6; 

earliest inhabitants, 6; coming of 

the Britons, 7; Roman invasion, 

11-19; See also England. 
Gregory I., the Great Pope, 29, 30, 48. 
Grey, Lady Jane, 185, 186. 
Guth'-rum, Danish Kin^, 44, 45. 

Hadrian, Emperor, 15. 
"Hamp'-den Clubs," 326. 
Hampden, John, 214, 221. 
Han'-o-ver, accession of House of, 259, 

267. 
Hargreaves (har'-grevz), James, 297. 
Harold, 53-58. 
Hastings, battle of, 56-58. 
Hen'-gist and Horsa, 21. 
Henry I., King, 65-67. 
Henry II., King, 68-79, 358. 
Henry III., King, 99-107. 
Henry IV., King, 138, 139, 142-146 
Henry V., King, 142, 146-149. 
Henry VI., King, 142, 149-162. 
Henry VII., King, 163-171. 
Henry VIII., King, 172-181, 183, 1 84 

187. 
High Court of Justice, 225. 
Hoiland, 236-238, 249, 293, 294, 313, 

323. 
"Home Rule," for Ireland, 363, 364. 
Hundred Years' War, 121-126, 146- 

153. 
"Hundreds," 26. 

Inclosures, 183. 

Independents, 200, 223. 

India, 271, 280, 281, 283, 345-347,371. 



378 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



Indulgence, Declarations of, 240, 241, 

246, 247. 
Industrial Revolution, 296-308. 
Instrument of Government, 232. 
Interdict, 94. 
I-6'-na, island of, 32, 33. 
Ireland, 17, 77, 138, 156, 169, 170, 218, 

227, 228, 231, 253, 254, 313, 328, 

342, 343, 353, 357-364. 
Iron, manufacture of, 301. 
"Ironsides," Cromwell's, 221, 223. 
Isabella, Queen, 113. 

Jac'-6-bItes, 266, 267, 271. 
James I., King, 195, 203-209, 274. 
James II., Duke of York, 242, 243; 

King, 244-256, 263. 
James VI. of Scotland (See also James 

I.), 195, 203. 
Jenkins, Captain, 270. 
Jennings, Sarah (Lady Churchill), 260, 

261, 263, 264. 
Jo-an' of Arc, 151, 152. 
John, King, 79, 91-99. 
Juries, 73, 74. 
Jutes, 20, 23. 

Katherine of France, 149. 
Kent, 23,30, 31. 
Kil-lie-kran'-kie, battle of, 254. 
"King's Friends,"285, 286, 288. 
Knighthood, 81-83. 
Knox, John, 194. 

La Hogue (hog), battle of, 255. 
Landholding, among the Old English, 

24, 25; feudal tenure established, 60. 
Land League, Irish, 361, 362. 
Langton, Stephen, Archbishop of 

Canterbury, 94-96. 
Laud, William, Archbishop, 214. 
Law, reforms of, 46, 47, 72, 73, 108- 

110, 335. 
"Levellers" the, 227, 228. 
Liberal party. See Whig. 
Livery and maintenance, 170, 171 
London, 45, 239,240. 
Londonderry, siege of, 253. 
Long Parliament, 215, 231, 233. 
Louis XIV. of France, 238, 240, 246, 

250, 252, 254, 255, 261-264. 
Louis XVI., of France, 311. 



Louis XVIII., of France, 320, 321. 
Luck'-now, siege of, 346. 347. 

MacAdam, John, 304. 

Macaulay, Thomas (Lord), 330, 331. 

March, Earl of, 139, 140, 143. 

Margaret, Queen, 156-162. 

Maria Theresa (ma-re'-a ti-ra'-za), of 

Austria, 271. 
Marie Antoinette (ma-re' an-toi-net') s 

311. 
Marlborough (miirl'-bur-o) , Duke of 

(John Churchill), 260, 261, 263, 264. 
Marston Moor, 221, 222. 
Mary I., Queen, 175, 185-190. 
Mary II., Queen, 248-250, 252, 258. 
Mary Stuart, of Scotland, 1S4, 194- 

197. 
Matilda, 67, 68. 
Mercia, 23, 39. 
Methodists, rise of, 306, 307. 
Monk, General George, 233, 237. 
Monks, 36-38. 
Monmouth, Duke of, 245. 
Montcalm, General, 279. 
More, Sir Thomas, 180, 183. 
Morse, Samuel, 341. 
"Mortmain," 109. 
Mutiny Act, 257. 
Mutiny, in India, 345-347. 

Naseby (naz'bi), battle of, 223. 
Navigation Acts, 237, 289, 359. 
Nelson, Admiral Horatio, 314, 316. 
Neville's (nev'ils), Cross, battle of, 

124. 
New Forest, 63, 65. 
New Zealand, 283, 368, 369. 
Nightingale, Florence, 344. 
Nile, battle of, 314. 
Normandy, 41, 53; ruled by William 

the Conqueror, 64; given to Robert, 

65; again united to English crown, 

67; lost by John, 92, 93. 
Normans, 41, 53; conquer England, 

55-5S. 
North, Lord, 294, 317. 
Northampton, battle of, 157. 
Northmen, See "Danes." 
Northumberland, Duke of, 185, 186. 
Northumberland, kingdom of, 23, 31, 

39. 



INDEX 



379 



Dates (ots), Titus, 242. 
O'Connell, Daniel 328, 329, 360. 
Ordeals, 73 

Paris, peace of (1763), 282, 283 
(1783), 294, 295. 

Parliament, 104, 114 137; rise of 
115-119; the Model Parliament 
118; under Henry IV., 145; under 
James I., 204-209; under Charles 
I., 210-218; the Long Parliament 
called, 215; War between King 
and Parliament, 219-226; turned 
out by Cromwell, 231 ; "Barebone's 
Parliament," 232; Long Parliament 
restored, 233; the "Convention Par- 
liament," 250; increased powers of 
Parliament, 257; Scottish repre- 
sentatives admitted to, 265; cor- 
ruption of under George III., 285' 
286; Irish representatives admitted' 
360; reforms of, 329-331, 352, 353. 

Parliament, Irish, 359, 360. 

Parnell, Charles Stewart, 361-364. 

Patrick, Saint, 17. 

Peasant's Revolt, 132-136. 

Peel. Sir Robert, 329, 343, 351, 352. 

Peninsular War, 318, 319. 

Percy, Sir Henry ( ' Hotspur ') , 143-145. 

"Peterloo Massacre," 327, 342. 

Petition of Right, 211, 212. 

Philip Augustus, of France 85, 86, 
87, 89, 92, 95, 98. 

Philip II., of Spain, 186, 187, 192, 
193, 197-200. 

Picts, 15, 16, 18, 21. 

Pinkie, battle of," 184. 

Pitt, William (Earl of Chatham), 277, 
278, 282, 283, 285, 289-294 

Pitt, William, the younger, 317. 

Plague, the Black Death, 127-120; 
under Charles II., 239. 

Plantagenet (plan-taj'-e-net), origin 
of name, 70. 

Poitiers (pwa-tya/), battle of, 125, 126. 

"Popish riot," the, 242. 

Postage, penny, 341 

Press, freedom of, 258. 

Pretender, the Old, 248, 263, 266, 
267; the Young ("Prince Charlie"), 
271-273. 



"Pride's Purge. ' 225, 233. 
Printing. 167, 168. 
Protectorate, the, 232. 
Puritan Revolution, 210-233. 
Puritans, the, 200, 201, 205, 206, 
219, 221, 233, 235, 236. 

Quebec, fall of, 279, 280. 

Railways, 340. 

Raleigh (ra'-li), Sir Walter, 197, 206. 

Reform Acts (Parliamentary), 330, 
352, 353. 

Reformation, the in England, 172- 
191; in Scotland, 194; in Ireland, 
358. 

Renaissance (re-na-sahs'), the, 165- 
168. 

Restoration, the Stuart, 234-243. 

Revolution, the "Glorious" (1688), 
244-251; the Puritans, 204-233; 
the American, 288-295; the Indus- 
trial, 296-308; the French, 309-323. 

Richard I., the Lion-Hearted, 78-90. 

Richard II., King, 130-140, 143. 

Richard III., King, 162-164. 

Roads, 303, 304. 

Robert, Duke of Normandy, 64-67. 

Roman Empire, 2, 11, 18. 

Roman wall, 15. 

Roses, Wars of the, 155-164. 

"Roundheads," 220. 

"Rump" Parliament, 231, 233. 

Rupert, Prince, 221-223, 237. 

Russia, 319, 344. 

Saxons, 20, 23. 

Scots and Scotland, 6, 78, 111, 170; 
under Henry IPs. lordship, 70; 
released by Richard I., 85; attempts 
of Edward I. and II. to conquer, 
111-113; defeated at Neville's cross, 
124; failure of Somerset's policy, 
184; Reformation in, 194; Stuarts 
succeed to English throne, 204, 
205; "Bishop's Wars," 215; Scots 
and English Parliament, 215, 220; 
aid Charles I. in second Civil War, 
224, 225; Cromwell and, 228-292; 
William III. and, 254, 255; united 
with England, 265, 266; attempt of 
Young Pretender, 271-273. 



380 



THE STORY OF ENGLAND 



Scutage. 72. 

Seb-as-to'-pol, siege of, 344, 345. 

Se'-poys, 280, 281, 345-347. 

Serfs and villains, 18, 26, 60, 61, 132- 

136. 
Settlement, Act of, 267. 
Seven Years' War, 276-281, 288. 
Shaftes'-bu-ry, Duke of, 243. 
Shakespeare, William, 201, 202. 
Ship money, 213, 214. 
Shires, 26. 

Shrews'-bu-ry, battle of, 144, 145. 
Sim'-nel, Lambert, 169. 
Simon de Montfort, 101-104. 
Slavery, abolition of, 332, 333. 
Somerset, Duke of, 182-185. 
South Africa, 369. 
Spain, 172, 173, 186, 193, 197-200, 

209, 262-264 269-271, 293, 294, 

295, 318, 319. 
Spinning, new inventions in, 296-298. 
St. Albans (al'-banz), battle of, 156. 
Star Chamber, Court of, 171. 
Steamboats, 340, 341. 
Steam engine, invention of, 299-301. 
Stephen of Blois, King, 67, 68. 
Stephenson, George, 340. 
Stone'-henge, 9, 10. 
"Stone men," 6 
Strafford, Earl of, 215-217. 
Sussex, kingdom of, 23. 
Sweyn (swan), King, 51. 

Telegraph, 341. 
Telephone, 341. 
"Test Acts," against Catholics, 241, 

242. 
Tewkes'-bu-ry, battle of, 162. 
Thegns, 26. 

Thirty Years' War, 208. 
Toleration Act, 256. 
Tory Party, 242, 243, 264, 285, 323, 

326, 331, 335, 339, 343, 349, 352. 
Townships, 26. 
Traf-al-gar', battle of, 316. 
Triennial Act, 257. 
Tudor, Henry. See Henry VII. 
Turkey, 313, 344, 356. 
Tyler, Wat, 134-136. 

Union, Act of (Scotland), 265; (Ire- 
land) , 360. 



United Provinces, 236-238. (See also 
Holland). 

United States, independence acknowl- 
edged, 295; War of 1812 with, 322, 
323; Civil War in, 350; Alabama 
claims arbitrated, 351. 

Utrecht, treaty of, 264, 269. 

Victoria, Queen, 284, 326, 337-356, 

366. 
Villains, 132-136. See also Serfs. 
V6r'-ti-gern, 21. 

Wakefield, battle of, 158. 
Wales, conquest of, 110. 
Wallace, William, 111. 
W T alpole, Sir Robert, 269-271. 
War of Spanish Succession, 262-264. 
War of 1812, 322, 323. 
Wars of the Roses, 154-164. 
Warbeck, Perkin, 170. 
Warwick (wor'-ik), Earl of, 156-162. 
Washington, George, 276, 291, 293. 
Wii-ter-loo', battle of, 321, 322. 
Wat'-ling street, 16. 
Watt, James, 300, 301. 
Weaving, 298. 
Wellington, Duke of, 318-321, 329, 

330. 
Wesley, John and Charles, 306, 307. 
Wessex, 23, 39. 
Whig party, 242, 243, 285, 287, 289, 

317, 327-332, 339, 343, 349, 352. 
Whitby, 33. 
Whitefield (whit'-feld), George, 306, 

307. 
Wilberforce, Win , 332. 
Wilkes, John, 286, 287. 
William I., the Conqueror^ 55-65. 
William II., "Rufus," King, 65. 
William III., of Orange, King, 238, 

248-259. 
William IV., King, 325, 326. 
Wit'-an (Wit'-en-a-ge-mot), 26, 115. 
Wolfe, Gen. James, 279, 280. 
Wolsey, Thomas, 173-177. 
Worcester (woos'-ter), battle of, 229, 

230. 
Wyclif (wik'-lif), John, 130-132. 

York, Richard, Duke of, 155-158. 



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